Miracle of the Second Semblance
by Rubles the Amazing Cookie Mom
Summary: When Qrow is dying from Tyrian's poison while Team RNJR is fighting the Nuckelavee, Ruby takes a chance and does the unthinkable: she unlocks her uncle's Semblance, despite the fact that he already has one. Only, it both does and doesn't go the way she thought it would go, and now Qrow has the ability to talk to ghosts in addition to his first Semblance. (Full summary on AO3)
1. Prologue - The Start of a Miracle

**Hello, readers! Rubles the Amazing Cookie Mom here, finally back with a new story! Which is...well, from RWBY. Hehe...funny how things turn out like that. ****A note to everyone here though, this isn't really _new_ as much as it is a rewrite. Although, it wasn't for story reasons but rather because of issues with its previous grammar. That's fixed now, so...it should be a lot easier to read.  
Anyhow, I'm putting up this header to introduce you to the story (whether you read the previous version of it or are reading it for the first time). This story isn't strictly RWBY per se...it's a RWBY crossover that borrows from too many sources to count. The resources, however, are ideas or powers that — as standalone concepts — don't really necessitate the sources themselves being woven into the story as part of a crossover. That being said: _any concepts not from RWBY that I specifically did not create myself are, obviously, not mine and I do not take credit for them myself. The credit belongs to the authors, artists, and outright geniuses that came up with them. This also counts for RWBY itself; I do not take credit for anything Rooster Teeth itself came up with.  
_****Now to talk about the prologue! As a starting point, this chapter-before-chapters begins as episodes 9 through 12 of Volume 4, in the PoV (point of view) of Ruby and Jaune. I will not be adding Ren and Nora's PoV, nor the "flashback" of their childhood in Kuroyuri. I already feel bad enough copying the show's dialogue...if you want to have the flashbacks, watch the episodes. (Gods know it was the last season of RWBY with any quality in it...and I say this as a person who loves RWBY despite everything that's happened.)**  
**Next chapter (well, Chapter 1 I should say), I'll introduce the plot of the story. The change will happen in this prologue, but you won't really see much of any changes until Chapter 1. I'm saying this because anyone with a hatred of source copying might as well just skim through this chapter. To those people, I don't know what to tell you except to just be patient for Chapter 1. It's...weirdly difficult to find a stable starting ground in a series where the average episode length is less than 20 minutes.**  
**To everyone in general, welcome to the story! I hope everyone enjoys Miracle of the Second Semblance. This story is also available on Archive of Our Own, so for anyone who wants to read it there you're more than free to do so. I hope you'll all like what I have in store for you (for this and all the chapters to come), and I'll see you all soon~**

~Prologue~

"Miracle". A curious word, yet a contradiction unto itself. It is a stroke of luck, a happenstance, a guardian angel watching over one in need. Yet it is an unbiased curse to the unworthy, a death sentence to the offending, a damning to the blasphemer. What no one can argue, however, is the nature of the miracle itself.

To the desperate, unsure, or religious...or to the stoic, clever, or agnostic...the reality of the miracle shows itself always in the storm of adversity, and to those in absolute need of a light to shine their path forward.

It would seem fitting, then, that one great miracle would shone itself in a dark land, tainted by an unfeeling corruption hellbent on eradicating all life, to a group steps away — literally and figuratively — from the shadow of death. All it took...was a stroke of bad luck.

But that miracle isn't exactly where our story begins. Instead, we begin a little before it: at a point where the damage leading to the miracle has already been dealt, and our heroes are desperately following a path to safety, not knowing of their trials that await them.

* * *

Ruby Rose, one member of the makeshift Team RNJR, carried the front end of a hastily-crafted stretcher carrying her uncle.

"Just...hold on Uncle Qrow..."

Uncle Qrow grunted in pain, with a splotch of purple on his gray coat over a nasty cut — a clear sign of poisoning — showing itself under shaking fingers.

"Tai," he muttered in hallucination, "she's not coming...Tai-!" He coughed, a clear sign of his deteriorating health.

Jaune Arc, a blonde boy in armor, carried the back end of the stretcher. "It's getting worse."

"How much farther?" Ruby asked worriedly.

"We've gotta be close," replied Nora Valkyrie, a grenade launcher (her trusty Maginhild) held at the ready for any possible threat.

The fourth member of the group, Lie Ren, walked in front of the group to scout ahead. "Without the map, there's no way of knowing," he said, "but I feel like we're close to something..."

He stopped, sheathing his weapons (Storm Flower, a pair of fully-automatic jade pistols with lethal, curved blades). Noticing a signpost some feet in front of him, he ran to look for directions to Mistral where they could cure Qrow of his poisoning.

"What is it?" Ruby questioned, seeing Ren at the post. The following group opted to quicken their pace, eager to find the fastest path to the city. Nora, unburdened by the injured man, made it there first.

"H-Hey! Mistral! We're on the right path!" She exclaimed this with an enthusiasm unfitting of the landscape, but upon examining Ren's line of sight she found what seems to trouble the boy. "Oh..."

"Does it say how close?" Ruby asked.

"No," Ren dejectedly answered, "and it looks like the path takes us up through the mountains."

"Guys," interjected Jaune, as he and Ruby set down the stretcher, "I don't know if all of us can make that climb."

Ruby looked at her uncle, who is thankfully unconscious at the moment, before jogging up to the sign. "Okay," she said, "well...what about this place?" She pointed to one of the branching planks attached to the pole, a crossed out name pointing to the left. "Kuro...Kuroyuri. Can we get help there?"

"That village was destroyed years ago," Ren replied, a slight edge to his voice.

Jaune walked up to the three, a contemplative look on his face. "But if it takes us around the mountains," he replied, sharing his wisdom, "it's the best bet we've got."

"It will take too long." Ren cut in, his voice sharper. Nora took notice of this, but kept quiet.

"The town would've had a doctor, right?" Ruby pointed out. "Maybe we can scavenge for medicine!"

"Right," Jaune agreed, liking this option more than the one of going up the mountain.

Ren, however, is having none of it. "We're not going to find anything! We just have to press on!"

A small silence follows his outburst, the other half of the team having now noticed the tense look on his face.

Jaune voiced his concern, "Ren, why're you acting–"

"We can split up," Nora interrupted suddenly, moving closer to Ren with her hand on his shoulder.

Ruby was completely taken off guard by the request. "Huh?" she questioned, suddenly scared of what she thinks is a terrible idea.

Nora continued, facing her Fearless Leader while applying reason to the strange request. "Ren and I can cut through the mountains while you and Ruby take Qrow around the village."

"No," Jaune rebuffed, as happy about this tactic as Ruby is, "we're supposed to stick together. We keep each other safe!"

"We don't have _time_ for safe," Nora exclaimed. "If we make it to Mistral, we'll bring back help. If we don't..." she looked endearingly at Ren, calming him with a loving smile shared many times before, "we'll at least have a better view of the land. Up there, we can see if there's somewhere else we can go!"

Ren shared the smile back with Nora, thankful for her input. Behind them, almost as to drive the point home, Qrow coughed again. The four looked back at him, anxious of his condition.

Jaune contemplated the situation, before finally coming to terms with the new plan. "Okay," he said, walking forward to embrace Ren as he lets them go through with their idea, "just take care of each other."

Nora reapplied her loving gaze at Ren, a knowing twinkle in her eyes. "We always have."

With the new plan underway, Ruby and Jaune picked up the stretcher. They looked back to Nora and Ren, the former waving to them as they run up the opposite path.

Ruby looked back to Jaune as they walked. "They're gonna be fine, Jaune," she tried.

Jaune, perhaps affected by the desolate landscape, looked down disheartened. "You don't know that."

Ruby, unsuccessful in cheering up her fellow leader, sported the same expression as him. The two continue their perilous journey, not noticing a massive imprint in the ground surrounding their own footsteps.

* * *

A small walk later, the two arrived in Kuroyuri. Its appearance, as expected, didn't look dissimilar to the dead forest surrounding — and in some cases _through_ — it. Buildings were collapsed, the streets were shattered like glass, and no sign of other life was anywhere in sight. Ruby looked around at the place, her sad expression still coating her features.

"Oh man..." Jaune said, depressed at how badly the town had fallen into disrepair.

Ruby, with her mind on her uncle, resolved herself. "Come on."

As they ventured into the town, they looked around for any sign of medicine to keep Qrow from getting any worse. "Any of these places look like a pharamcy?" Ruby asks.

"It's...honestly hard to tell," Jaune replied, the destruction around them making it difficult to make out any place that medicine would be stored.

"Ren really didn't want to come her, did he?" Ruby continued, making conversation in the quiet wreckage.

"Uh...didn't seem so."

"Do you know...why?"

Jaune sighed, not for Ruby's continued questioning but rather for his answer. "I think I have a pretty good idea."

The two continued on in silence for several minutes, before they set Qrow down and looked for medicine themselves. They met back in the center of town, a little ways away from where they leaned Qrow against a large tree.

"Nothing," Jaune said, revealing himself indeed empty-handed.

Ruby frowned at this, not having found anything either, before she looked to her uncle. "We should get back to Qrow."

The man is currently barely conscious, a hand held on his poisoned cut. He grimaced, clearly weak and in terrible pain. Ruby knelt by him, increasingly worried for her uncle and mentor.

A loud roar suddenly made itself heard far off in the distance. Jaune twisted around, his hand gripped on the handle of his sword (Crocea Mors, a sword with an extremely durable blade, sheathed in a white, foldable shield as durable as the blade). He looked around wildly, fully alert for any movement.

"It's far off," Ruby said reassuringly, though not in any less tense of a manner than he.

"I know," Jaune told her, his back to her, "but Ren and Nora are still out there."

Ruby, her mood descending rapidly into guilt, looked back towards Qrow, before she stood up. The young Huntress walks behind Jaune, a depressed look to her visage.

"I'm sorry."

Jaune looked back, utterly surprised at her words. "Huh?"

"This is all my fault," she continued, her pupils growing wider with held-back tears, "I should have never dragged you guys into this."

Jaune's frown morphed into a half-smile. "You didn't drag us in," he consoled her, "we wanted to come."

"But", the girl crieed, reaching her emotional limit with tears shimmering and voice cracking against her will, "you didn't know about Tyrian, about–"

"Ruby."

She stopped, quieting as he starts to talk.

"We lost...we lost Pyrrha," he said, his smile forgotten as he forced himself to remember the past. "You lost her too. And Penny, and your team, and in a way...your sister. But you're still here...despite _everything_ you've lost, and everything you could still lose, you _chose_ to come out here. Because you felt like you could make a difference."

Ruby looked up, eyes widened with desperation to find the truth in his words.

"You didn't drag us along," he finalized, placing a hand on her shoulder, his smile as dorky as ever, "you gave us the courage to follow you."

This seemed to finally allow Ruby to smile as well, the meaning of his statement doing its job. The two stared at each other for what seemed a century, as though lost in this one happy moment, before the same roar previously heard forced them apart. The roar, they noticed, was definitely louder than before. They turned around, hearing footsteps, only to find Ren and Nora panting in overexertion.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ruby practically yelled, panicking at why they were here despite the reason for their temporary separation.

Jaune, meanwhile, is mildly panicked himself, paying far more attention to the roar that definitely wasn't miles away like it had previously been. "Did you hear that noise? What was that?!"

Ren fell to his knees, a look of despair quaking in his eyes.

Jaune didn't notice, his head swiveling around like a bloodhound with a clue. Suddenly, he stopped. "Wait, you guys hear that?"

Footsteps, louder and more pronounced than any human limb had a right to make, pounded on stone. Another set of steps _clopped_, clearly originating from a hooved creature. The two noises sounded in a rhythmic tandem, slow yet purposeful.

"No..." Ren bent his head lower in his despair, the sound driving him nearly unresponsive.

"Ren?" Nora whimpered. Ren brings his head up almost unwillingly. In front of him, simply _yards_ away, stood what could only be described as an absolute nightmare of a creature. A black horse, with white bone plating scattered across its body, is situated under a vaguely human-like body conjoined around its middle. This _thing_, obviously not human in nature, has large curled horns on its head, and its mouth — if one could call it that — is webbed together, stretched as though no mouth was supposed to have existed there in the first place.

But, one would suppose, the Nuckelavee shouldn't have any _right_ to exist. A sentiment that, though not paid attention to in this dire moment, is absolutely shared by Team RNJR at this moment.

As though offended by this line of questioning, the Grimm attacked, forcing Team RNJR to scatter. As this happened, Qrow deliriously coughs, the poison noticeably worse than it previously was. Ruby notices the Grimm eye her uncle, and in a mad dash to keep him alive she uses her Semblance to dash to him and carry him behind a building. One of the Nuckelavee's limbs, seemingly capable of stretching, partially buried itself where Qrow were last located.

"Qrow," Ruby whined, honestly lost at this turn of events. She knew his Semblance was to blame somehow, but she ignored that train of thought over trying to come up with a way to help him. Ideas came and went as quickly as pastry on a plate, nothing making a lick of sense. Until, in a stroke up seeming madness, one idea stuck out. An incredibly stupid idea. One that really shouldn't have any chance of working.

_But what real choice do I have,_ she thought. _If I do nothing, he's going to die anyway._

"Uncle Qrow," she said, barely holding herself together as she shivered under her shaking fingers, "I think I'm going to do something really, really stupid here. Something that you're definitely going to haunt me for. B-but..."

_No, _Ruby shakes her head, steeling herself for what's to come, _it's do or die, no matter what way you look at it. But if there's even a slight chance this will work...oh gods, give me a sign...anything..._

Finishing what she'd admit later was a prayer of sorts — one of the first she made to something other than her late mother — she put her brain power into quickly coming up with a way to complete her idiotic goal. She remembered the chant, but...something felt off in her head. She had a bad feeling about the original wording in this circumstance, and so perhaps in a fit of more idiocy she decides to come up with a new chant on the spot.

_Gods he's going to kill me if he doesn't blow up first..._

"For...for to live is to attain wisdom," she chanted, closing her eyes as she held her uncle. She doesn't quite know why, but as soon as she spoke the words started coming naturally to her. She blamed it on being the heat of the moment, but decided she doesn't care and continued on. "Through knowledge attained in our lives, we rise above all and become paragons of glory and virtue. Through–" she stammered, tempted to look at the three fighting the Nuckelavee, but persevered, "Through regret attained in our lives, we bare our fangs against the pain and shield the helpless."

Her mind flashed back to Pyrrha's and Penny's deaths, and even to Roman's death, as a tear fell from her eye. Yet, she continued. "I release the battered chains of your soul, and stand by your side through death and time. I c-carry your heart past its limits...and by my shoulder, arm thee."

Letting go of her uncle's head, she barely registered the Aura draining from her body as she ran to assist her team. Grabbing her weapon from her back (Crescent Rose, a black and red sleek beauty of a scythe capable of mechashifting into a sniper rifle), she didn't notice her uncle's less-labored breathing. Sprinting like her life depended on it, she also didn't notice her uncle glowing faintly as he barely awoke again, poison still pumping through his veins.

"R-Rube," he muttered, eyesight dividing like a shattered mirror, dizzy and still delirious from the poison. He was aware, however, of the Grimm his niece went to fight, and so found enough focus to glare heatedly at the blurry demonic creature before he passed out yet again, one last pulse of Aura shining before dimming to a dull thrum.


	2. Chapter 1 - The Nuckelavee

**To you, the reader, I thank you for reading the prologue and hope you're excited for this chapter and future ones ahead! Thank you for being part of a new story in the making.  
Chapter 1 here is where changes will start to be obvious. In the prologue, it was practically copy-pasted from Volume 4 because I needed an anchor to start the story from. Now, though, I can start diverting from canon. Yes, I definitely will be diverting from canon. Certain things not directly related to the main group will stay the same (like Cinder trying to get Raven on her side, Jaques practically abusing Weiss to the point where she leaves Atlas, etc.), but things happening to the main group will change. Thus, those things won't be shown in the story. Once the Butterfly Effect starts changing events outside the group, I'll start venturing outside of the group's PoV.  
Not only that, but fights will definitely change. I will not do the Battle of Haven like Rooster Teeth did it in canon. I will not have it be the pile of shit it was in canon. I know I'm spoiling this now, but I'm saying this because I was really disappointed in it (as, I'm sure, many of you were). So, there's that expectation to fulfill. I plan on rewarding your patience for when I reach that point in the story.  
There's not really much else to say, other than to please enjoy reading the story! I hope your time here is as special to you as it is to me. Have fun~**

~Chapter 1~

Ruby ran back to the rest of Team RNJR, barely noticing the loss of a large chunk of her Aura. The Nuckelavee did notice her return though, and its twitching head stared directly at her as it launched its unoccupied arm at her. She dodged the obvious attack and slashed Crescent Rose at the Grimm's limb, causing the grotesque beast to shriek in pain and bring its arm back to itself while Ruby joined her friends.

"Is he okay?" Jaune asked, switching his eyes from her to the Nuckelavee as he slowly backed up, his sword and shield held at the ready.

"I don't know, Jaune," Ruby replied, her worried but angry face glaring at the offending enemy. "We need to finish this up, and fast. He doesn't have much time left. I-I gave him a little Aura, but–!" She was interrupted as the Nuckelavee threw its stretching limbs in her direction, forcing her to pause the conversation and dodge the fast appendages.

"Guys," Jaune yelled, his comrades now fully on guard against the Nuckelavee, "go in a circle! Keep moving and don't let it focus on anyone!"

Following their leader's command, the group ran around their enemy while firing their weapons at it. Nora, doing the same, fired grenades at its back, before she mechashifted Maginhild into its hammer form and ran at it. With a knowing look in his eyes, Jaune sprinted in a spiral around the Grimm himself, before he and Nora struck at one of its front legs in tandem. The Grimm shrieked, no longer as annoyed as much as it was in pain, and it backed away to prepare a counterattack. Before it could, though, it shrieked again, now holding up its back leg as it stumbled forward.

"Did...did it step on something?" Nora wondered. Not letting this chance go to waste, she ran under the beast and slammed her hammer with all her might against its exposed ribcage. An echoing crack echoed through the town, and the group couldn't help but wince as one of the stake-shaped bones shattered under the force of the blow.

Ruby, meanwhile, looked behind the horse to see what happened to its back limb: right in the middle of the sole of its hoof, a thin metal object protruded out of it. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was the tip of a broken sword that had likely been shattered against its back when the town was destroyed.

"Uncle Qrow, did you..." she murmured, her eyes suddenly glowing up in hope. "Guys, guys I think we can win this! Keep doing what Jaune said, but keep hitting its limbs! Its back foot has a small blade stuck in it!"

Upon hearing the exclamation, they could almost hear another crack, this time from Ren himself as he quickly looked at Ruby, and then back to the Nuckelavee. A look they hadn't seen on his face since before the Fall of Beacon — a smile, though lacking of its former innocence — slowly crept its way onto his face as he charged at the horse-like Grimm.

"Ren, what're you-" Jaune exclaimed. Ren would not be stopped, though, as he dashed forward, nearly colliding with an arm thrown by the handicapped Grimm. He continued to run forward before being violently thrown back, its other arm managing to collide with his chest.

"Ren, stop! What're you doing?!" Jaune yelled, looking towards his crazed friend before he's forced to return his attention to the Grimm and dodge another thrown arm. He proceeded foward, with Nora trailing behind him as the two followed Ruby's instruction. Jaune struck at its uninjured hind leg, hoping to force it down, but the tactic didn't work as intended.

The Grimm, now wizened to their ploy, suddenly hopped away from the group. At the same time, Ruby fired a shot from Crescent Rose's barrel that ended up missing its leg, hitting the side of a building instead. She frowned tiredly before looking at its new location. As she saw the Grimm readying an attack, she readied what Aura she had remaining, not seeing Jaune colliding with her. As she recovered from the tackle, she looked up to see its stretched arms twisting around itself like a demented pair of Bullhead propellers. Indeed, as she looked where Nora was at, she saw the girl slowly getting up from being flung from the demon, her pink Aura crackling like static around her before failing.

"Nora," Ruby shouted. Ren, still with a maniacal look on his face, doesn't notice this as he continues to attack the beast before being thrown yet again, now sliding to a halt near Nora. He tried and failed to get up, his jade-colored Aura failing like Nora's before it.

"Cr-Crap-" Ruby stuttered, before she grabbed Jaune on instinct and rolled to the side to dodge another attack from the Nuckelavee. While he hadn't collapsed in the same way Ren and Nora did, he was just as tired as Ruby if not more so, and the attack would have definitely injured him.

"Thanks, Ruby," he weakly muttered, pushing himself up and running carefully at Ren and Nora to help them. A quick glance showed Nora pushing Ren under a building, with the Grimm (still with the blade in its hoof) galloping at the two. Ruby grimaced, noticing the Grimm had learned to mostly ignore the pain from its injury. As she got up to ascend atop a building, she saw Jaune lifting his shield at the Grimm, holding it at bay.

In an effort to relieve Jaune of his burden, Ruby shot at the Grimm's back, dodging the arms it stretched at her. Firing more bullets, this time as propulsion, she continued to sustain fire at the thing until it finally removed itself from where the others were located. Only, it doesn't run at her, deciding to instead glare at the building where Ren and Nora walked out from under. As Ruby circled back around to them, she found the expression on Ren's face to no longer be manic but instead focused — a familiar look of focus that gave Ruby some hope.

"Ren, you good?" Jaune asked, a mix of determination and apprehension adorning his chiseled features, a bead of sweat running down his brow–

_Ruby, no! Stop, this isn't the time for that, _she thought. _Pay attention to the Grimm, not to him. No room for distraction here. Point your scythe, angle your knees for a fast – too far! Okay, like that. Just like always...get ready on his signal. Okay._

"Ren," Ruby said,, ignoring the blush on her face as she now glanced at her ninja friend while still keeping her attention on the Nuckelavee, "if Jaune and I take care of its arms, can you and Nora take care of the horse?"

"I've got the horse," Nora replied, the same look of focused determination from Ren appearing on her own face. She had some tear-marks lining her cheeks, Ruby realized, but she looked at Ren to get his confirmation rather than continuing to concentrate on her.

"I'll take care of the rest," he said confidently. Ruby and Jaune grinned, happy to see their friend back to his normal attitude. The four glared heatedly at the mistake of nature, which was still twitching like mad. As though knowing the fight was reaching its climax, it elongated the bone spikes along its back and screeched an unholy screech that gave them no choice but to drop their weapons and cover their ears. Immediately after, though, they had to pick their dropped weapons as the Nuckelavee charged.

Ruby propelled herself and hopped from building to building, firing her weapon to distract it. As it threw its arm towards her, she jumped from the ceiling and quickly propelled herself downwards. Twisting herself in mid-air, she slammed the point of her scythe into its arm, opting to point the barrel of its rifle chamber at the body. She noticed her Aura take more than a visible hit from landing on the ground so hard, her reserves nearing empty at this point. She now realized that she'd given Qrow a lot more Aura than she thought she did, if this was how low her Aura was.

She looked at Jaune and Ren, the latter having taken Jaune's shield which he used to slam into the Grimm's other arm. As Jaune sank his blade into the demon's wrist, Nora descended gracefully from a nearby tall (and miraculously still standing) building, her timing in sync with Team RNJR's actions like they were in Team JNPR at Beacon. Twisting much like Ruby did, Nora used her new momentum to _crush_ the head of the horse, pulverizing the area where the horse's brain would normally be. Indeed so, the horse collapsed like a rag doll, leaving the human-like body to thrash around in agony while Ren walked meaningfully towards it with his knife and killed it.

When Ruby felt the resistance of the Grimm's flesh disappear, she ignored the massive cloud of black smoke and immediately folded her weapon down into its compact form, rushing to where Qrow was located. Her uncle looked calm, but in a good way; he was conscious and looking better than he did before, and he congratulated her for a job well done against the Grimm. She took his hand in hers, tears trying to escape for the second time today as she heard Jaune proclaim of something approaching. She looked up, and to her delight there were two airships landing in the middle of the open space where they had fought the Nuckelavee previously. She looked back at Qrow and smiles a giant smile, a peaceful twinkle shining in her silver orbs.

* * *

Qrow Branwen would tell you he's lived a pretty shitty life. A lifetime of bad luck, a broken team, and plenty of memories drowned in the glorious beverage known as booze. He'd also tell you, though, that he's has plenty of moments that have more than made up for it.

Indeed, as his niece — his strong, persevering niece...his smiling, curious pseudo-daughter who shouldn't have had her innocence shattered so thoroughly — walked beside him as he's lifted on a stretcher into one of the airships, he thought that his gods-awful luck could be pretty lenient sometimes.

Something feels quite odd to him now, though. He thought it was just the poison, but he swore he could feel...something under his eyes, like some gust of wind that got past his Aura. A headache that started off small increased in intensity, but he'd become used enough to them by now. Still, he closed his eyes, using the wind blowing through the airship to soothe the absolute _pain_ he felt.

When he next opened them, he was treated to Ruby smiling the most precious smile you could ever see on her face. He'd joke that he could die right now a fulfilled man, but he felt that the disgust from saying such a bad joke would kill him before Tyrian's poison could. He gripped her hand, as weak as his grip currently was, to let her know everything would be alright. He blinked, his eyes irritated by that feeling again. He focused on Ruby again, before glancing off to the side at a familiar face with a bittersweet smile.

_Hey Sum, _he thought,_ Heh, you'd think I'd have started hallucinating from the poison sooner than this, though maybe it's just cause I'm so close to death. Still, I'm happy to see you with that amazing smile of yours again._

He glanced back at Ruby again, who was looking off into the distance at the fast-approaching city of Mistral. _You'd be proud of her, Sum. She's gone through so much, way more than anyone her age should have any right to, and she came out swinging for it. If you could see her now, you'd — well, I guess you'd hug her first, wouldn't you?_

_Yeah, _he contemplated, _what she needs right now is a hug. I'd do it for you, but I'm kind of...indisposed at the moment. Though, I suppose I'm the one needing a hug, if I'm having this kind of conversation with myself._

The image of Summer continued to smile at him, her familiar white cloak billowing in the wind behind her. Satisfied with his little speech to himself, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off into a more peaceful slumber than he'd had for a long time.

* * *

_Hey sis, I hope my letters have been reaching you and Dad. Hand-written stuff's never been super reliable, but I guess it's all we've got these days. Anyway, in case you haven't been getting them, I want to say I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. I know you told me it was a reckless idea, and after everything I've been through, I can definitely say you were right. It's been hard, on all of us, and I'm not just talking about the monsters we fought out here._

_Every step we made took us further and further away from the things we knew and every morning we woke up wondering, if just over the next hill would be something good or something terrible. It's scary, not knowing what's going to happen next. And the things we do know now, just how bad it can get, it almost makes it all worse. You told me once that bad things just happen. You were angry when you said it, and I didn't want to listen. But you were right, bad things do happen, all the time, every day. Which is why I'm out here, to do whatever I can, wherever I can, and hopefully do some good. We've all lost something, and I've seen what loss can do to people. But if we gave up every time we lost, then we'd never be able to move forward. We'd never have a chance to see what beautiful things the future might have waiting for us. We'd never have the strength to change; whether it's ourselves or the world around us. And we'd never be there for other people who might one day be lost without us._

_This is what we were training for, Yang, to become Huntresses, to be the ones to stand up and do something about all the bad in the world. Because there are plenty of people out there who are still lost and even more who will try to gain everything they can from their sorrow. Believe me when I say, I know it can feel impossible, like every single day is a struggle against some unstoppable monster we can never hope to beat. So we have to try, if not for us, then for the p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶'̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ people we haven't lost yet._

_I miss you so much. I miss Weiss and Blake too. But I think you'd all be proud to know I made it to Mistral. All of us did, and we even ran into Uncle Qrow along the way! He's going to take us to see Professor Lionheart, the Headmaster of Haven Academy. And, he told us some things that you're gonna wanna hear, things I can't trust will make it to you in this letter. But maybe, if you joined us, he could tell you himself. With Beacon gone, they'll need dad at Signal more than ever, and I know you need to focus on yourself before I can expect you to come out with me. But it sure would be great to get Team RWBY back together again._

_Until next time, your loving sister, Ruby Rose._

_Oh! Uh, PS. I'll be sure to give you the address of where we're staying at Mistral! I'd love to hear back from you and Dad, and I can't wait to fill you in on whatever's going to happen next! Now that we've made it across Anima, I really think things are gonna start going our way._

* * *

_Urgh, still in pain,_ Qrow thought. He grunted, barely able to move himself under the covers he was under. He noted that he was laying on a bed, which was a lot more comfortable than perching on a branch. He opened his eyes, seeing his niece crouching beside him with a somewhat-worried look on her face. He forced a tired smile, which was enough to bring a relieved expression to the surface.

"Hey," he croaked, moving his aching arm under his head in a more comfortable position, "aren't I normally the one saving you?"

Her smile shined like a star in the night sky, and she wiped some shed tears from her eyes as they started to fall down her cheeks.

"You know," he continued, "your Vomit Boy there did a pretty good job with that thing. All of you did, honestly. I, uh, didn't really _see_ most of the fight, but–"

"Uncle Qrow," she interrupted, laughing, "you didn't see _any_ of it. B-But Jaune was great, and Nora totally _crushed_ it, you should've seen it! And Ren...well, um..."

"I saw some tension with the Lie kid there. I, um...I won't ask about it, but I hope he's doing better?"

"Yeah, he is," Ruby answered, holding his unburied hand. "Let's just say that it had to do with the Nuckelavee, and he...well, he and Nora are doing a lot better now. If I didn't know them as well as I do, I'd say they're finally together-together. But, well...I guess we'll have to wait and see to know for sure, huh?"

Qrow chuckled, quickly forcing himself to stop with the pain in his head and side acting up again.

"Hey," she said, "take it easy for now, okay Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah, sure kiddo. Kinda thinking I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

She chuckled herself, before looking at him with a soul-piercing gaze. "So, um...Uncle Qrow, a couple things happened during the fight."

"Like what," he questioned, a frown adorning his face. Considering she's asking him, he had a feeling he knew what the subject was.

"Well," she twiddled her fingers, her eyes trailing off to the side, "the Grimm kinda ended up being a lot...easier than we thought it'd be? It got a blade tip stuck in its hoof, and it got so distracted by it that Nora got to deal a huge blow to it. Right to the rib cage! Man, you should've seen it, she was like 'wham!' and it was like 'argh!', and then, well, the rest of the fight happened."

"And you're asking me if my Semblance had anything to do with it," he confirmed, getting his answer from her nod. "It probably did, I don't know. I was pretty out of it the whole time. But hey...I'm glad I helped you out in some way, kiddo."

"Thanks, Uncle Qrow," she said. "Not just for that, but...for everything. Everything you've done and still do. I don't think I say it enough, but–"

"Rubes, please. It's fine. I'm just happy you're safe."

"Well, still. Thanks. Oh, um...I'm writing a letter to Dad, you wanna put anything in?"

"Nah, you go do your thing. I need that rest more than I thought I did."

Nodding again, Ruby walked over to a table on the other side of the room where a pen and paper rested. Qrow, however, stares at Ruby's previous location, his smile transforming into a deep frown. For the whole conversation, Qrow had been forcing himself to not get distracted by the sight before him, but now with Ruby off writing her letter he had nothing keeping him from it.

Where Ruby had crouched seconds before, Summer Rose was now floating. Her cloak no longer billowed in the wind like on the airship, and her smile was replaced by a contemplative frown.

_Qrow...we need to talk._

His eyes and mouth widened, his pain forgotten, as his former team leader's voice rang in his ears like a bell chime. _Okay,_ he thought,_ I really think I need to lay off the booze for a bit._


	3. Chapter 2 - Discovering the Impossible

**Hello again~  
I hope you liked Chapter 1 and the changes that happened in it. I always thought it would've been smarter for Ruby to be the one carrying her uncle out of the way of the Nuckelavee, considering her speed-based Semblance. And I _thoroughly_ enjoyed writing in that bit where Nora shattered a part of its rib cage as it suffered from the blade tip being lodged in its back hoof. All-in-all, I wrote it more in Ruby's perspective (and the last part in Qrow's) instead of Ren and Nora, as I felt it would've taken away from the meaning of the story if I'd done the latter.  
Those kinds of changes in the previous chapter? That's just the beginning of what I'll be doing here. Like I said in Chapter 1, I will be diverting from canon. Other than the things that happen regardless of Ruby and her group, I hope to have completely diverted from the canon timeline by the time I reach Volume 7. I hope you're patient with me on that, and I'll reward you the best I can.  
Now to this chapter! After adding the extra bit at the end of last (well, first) chapter, I wanted to continue along those lines and decided that Chapter 2 here will start directly after that. That's right, folks, we're not in Volume 5 yet! Qrow's still recovering, and I _know_ you're interested about the upcoming conversation. A conversation that, I'm happy to declare, will _not_ be skipped like I've seen many an author do. That's another change in this story...many things people would normally skip on writing out, I won't. I feel that was apparent when I copy-pasted the entirety Ruby's letter (hope you liked that, by the way) but now you know it first-hand. I will occasionally be having them repeat things they said earlier in the chapter or story, but it won't be on the level of the characters constantly repeating what they said every single chapter previously; for the most part you'll get to see whole conversations without "and so he told her this" and all that jazz, and the repeating is only when I want to make a point about things, to get certain emotions across that would otherwise be muted if skipped. You the reader are a part of this story, too, it only makes sense that you don't have to assume what the characters do all the time.  
Thank you all for giving this story a chance. Until next chapter, everyone!**

~Chapter 2~

_Okay, so,_ Qrow thought, _please don't tell me I'm going crazy here._ When he looked back at his former teammate, she raised her eyebrow as though expecting something._ Huh, so whatever this is she probably can't hear my thoughts. That's...kind of reassuring, I'm not gonna question it._

"Hey, pipsqueak," he said to Ruby, who looked back over the chair she's sat at upon being addressed, "why don't you go ask your friends in the other room to help you with your letter, and we'll go send it after our meeting with the Headmaster. I'm gonna get some shut-eye."

"Okay, Uncle Qrow," she replied, standing up with her letter in hand. She contemplated something before smiling brightly, telling him to get better soon as she closed the door behind her. Qrow stayed silent for a few seconds, listening to her footsteps slowly clicking down the hall, before turning back to Summer.

"Okay, Sum, what the fuck's going on? Even when I was drunk off my ass, my illusions wouldn't speak to me like you just did. And I know you're not...well, _alive._"

_That's what I want to find out,_ her voice echoed in his head. He now noticed her mouth didn't move when she spoke, signifying that while she couldn't — or pretended not to — hear his thoughts, her voice could broadcast itself in his mind whether she moved her mouth or not.

"Then who was the one that put superglue in Ozpin's tapioca?" he asked, in an attempt to scout out whether she was the real deal or not.

He heard her bell-like giggling in his head again as she covered her closed mouth with a hand, clearly covering up a laugh to no success. _Nice try, bird-brain. That pudding was Glynda's, and it was an accident...on my part. I was busy fixing one of the chairs I broke in the cafeteria a couple days previously and I, uh...kinda sat on it. The glue. And it all went right into Glynda's pudding. Oh, I wanted to apologize so much to Glyn for that..._

"Wait, this is new," he commented. "It _wasn't_ Raven's fault?"

_I had a bad week,_ she clarified, with her eyes drooping and her hand returning to her side. _I was on the verge of breaking down from stress because of combat class, and then that ended up happening. Raven covered up for me, on the condition that I go with her our next day off to pay for her Dust and that I not tell you and Tai._

"So that half-assed story you made up wasn't because you didn't like me?"

_Oh gods no, Qrow,_ she exclaimed, her eyes widening to near circles, _of course I liked you! I had a massive crush on you! I wanted to take you into the Janitor's closet and make out with you until we couldn't stand! Gods, Qrow, I just...I was pretty devastated when you rejected me, though, I thought _you_ hated _me.

"Well shit, um," he stammered from the unexpected information, "just...wow. I never knew that. Either of those things."

_Yeah, well, it's not like we can do anything like that now._

"...Can we–?"

_Of course we can't, dumbass! In case you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of ethereal right now! I have been for well over a decade...you'd think you would've noticed by now._

"_I'm_ the dumbass?"

_Yes, Mr. "I-wore-a-ladies'-skirt-because-I-thought-it-was-a-kilt." _She glared, soul-piercing silver boring through his soul twice today, and Qrow looked away sheepishly._ You're the dumbass who apparently wants to screw your teammate's deceased and _clearly_ see-through sloppy seconds, you're the dumbass who drowns his liver in poison every day, _you're_ the dumbass who beats himself up over a Semblance he thinks he can't control every single waking moment...you're the dumbass who raised my kids when I couldn't, _after_ I couldn't-! _She sighed, finally opening her mouth to calm herself._ You're the dumbass I fell in love with this whole time...the one I should've been married to._

"But Tai–"

_I loved Tai like you loved Raven, but...he was really out of it after she left. You know this already, Qrow. I couldn't just leave him to wallow in his misery like that, and you weren't responding to my advances. I had to do something. If I'd known you still had feelings for me, maybe we could've had something._ A silent, nearly-invisible tear fell from her eye, vanishing from existence as it separated from her translucent skin. _Looking back, it would've been better that way._

"And go without Ruby brightening our lives? Not having a solid brain must've made you dumber than me, because that just...what?"

He's interrupted by Summer's chiming giggles, growing louder until she bends her neck back and lets loose a loud laugh that has her clutching her see-through sides. Though more tears fell from her eyes, they were shut in an futile effort to control the uncontrollable smile split wide on her face.

_Oh gods, Qrow, that hit the spot. I haven't had a reason to let loose like that for a long time. I'd almost forgotten what it feels like to be happy after all this time. Oh, that was therapeutic._

"At least there's no doubt now you're the real Summer," he said. "But, how? Again, you're kinda _dead!_ This better not be a fucking joke, Sum, because if I'm getting hallucinations from that fucking poison and I just kicked Ruby out of the room to convince myself I'm going crazy..."

_You're not, Qrow. Though..._ she voiced her thoughts aloud (If she could even keep them secret, thought Qrow), _why indeed? Why are you just now able to see me, when I've been with you for the majority of my afterlife?_

"Really? Well um...you got any theories?"

_Well, I do have one. Before her fight against the Nuckelavee, Ruby chanted something while she gave some of her Aura to you. Except...going along that logic, the implication of her doing that goes against everything we know about Aura._

"What're you saying? That Rubes changed my Semblance or something?"

_No, you used it on the Nuckelavee before you blacked out again. Ruby's suspicions were true._

"So...what then? You're not going to say I have something like a second Semblance, are you?"

_It's...very likely you do, Qrow. I'm not sure how, but it looks that way._

"Well, I guess I was right. You really _are_ an airhead."

_Qrow, I swear to everything that is holy that I will _haunt_ you if you start making puns!_

"Aren't you already?" He countered.

_I-but-you,_ she pouted, _I hate it when you're right...but that's not important right now. Yes, Qrow, I'm implying my daughter — my amazing, wonderful girl who didn't get to spend her childhood with a mother — did the impossible and gave you another Semblance, and didn't blow you up in the process I might add._

"You're full of hot air."

_Apparently so, considering I'm currently one of two airheads in this room._

"Oh, so you get to make puns and I can't?"

_Qrow, honey. At least with Tai, he tries. You kind of, well...murder it. Yes, that was a pun at your name, and I'm not sorry._

The two laughed for a few seconds, though Qrow stopped when he clutched his side where Tyrian had poisoned him.

"Well, in any case it involves Ruby. I'm gonna go have a talk with her."

_Nope._ She moved in front of him before he could start climbing out of bed, as though the action would prevent him from getting up.

"Um, why not?"

_Because you're currently recovering, Ruby's letting loose with her friends, and your eyes are steadily drooping. Rest, Qrow, you're still recovering. I'll watch over you._

"But–"

_Nope!_ she interrupted again, popping the 'p'. _Don't even try it. Come on, close your eyes and sleep. We'll talk about what I need to tell you when you wake up, and after that you can talk to them when your Aura's in better shape. I promise, I'll be right here with you, darling. Go to sleep._

Slowly but surely, Qrow gave into her demand and drifted into dreamland. Before he fully lost consciousness, he heard Summer's voice faintly humming a calming tune he vaguely remembered from their time in Beacon. Soon, even it too vanished from his thoughts as he succumbed to the darkness of his second peaceful sleep in a very long time, a melody of white clouds and uplifting winds carrying him onward on light wings.

* * *

Ruby, Nora, Jaune, and Ren sat in a larger room than Qrow's. Ruby, sitting in front of a table, looked at her letter with a smile, with Jaune peering over her shoulder to read it. Nora sat at the opposite side of the table, knife and fork in hand while humming a happy jingle. Ren was busy in a nearby kitchen, and the distinct and delicious smell of pancakes permeated the atmosphere as he worked on their meal.

A slow thumping brought the three of them to attention, with them finding Qrow Branwen slowly walking towards them. Though he didn't look to have fully recovered yet, he was no longer clutching his side. Though his steps were heavy, he wasn't dragging himself to them either.

"You're up already, Qrow?" Jaune asked.

"Not quite yet, blondie," Qrow replied, "I'm still a little weak, but with my Aura I should be good by morning."

"What, no!" Ruby yelled. "Uncle Qrow, you need to get back to bed!"

Qrow held a hand up, and Ruby silenced herself. Ren, bringing over five plates of pancakes, looked at him with the others as Qrow got their attention.

"I'll do that in a bit, pipsqueak. I _did_ sleep, and I need to walk around a bit anyhow. Damn hospitals," he glared around the place with a not-so-subtle distaste marring his features. "But first, kiddo, I was meaning to have a talk with you about what happened back in Kuroyuri."

"You mean about when she gave you some of her Aura," Ren inputted.

"Gave is...an accurate word to use here," said the tired Huntsman, rubbing his eyes with pinched fingers. He turned his attention to Ruby. "Rubes, exactly what did you do when you gave me Aura?"

"I," she paused, thinking carefully of her reply. "Well, I gave you Aura. B-But I was worried that your Semblance would've got in the way, that something would go wrong, and I just...went with my instinct?"

"And that instinct just so happened to include a chant?"

"A chant," Jaune repeated, now looking at the girl as well. "Ruby, what exactly did you say?"

"Well," Ruby responded, a frown starting to appear, "like I said, I was afraid of Uncle Qrow's Semblance getting in the way, and I just didn't have time, and Uncle Qrow w-was dying, so I just–"

"Ruby," Qrow said impatiently. "Calm. Now, what did you say?"

Ruby breathed out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, her silver orbs calmly stared forward. "It's funny," she started, "I kinda made it up on the spot back there, but it just _came_ to me. And I still remember the words like our first day of Beacon, it's...weird, but it fits."

She breathed in and out again, collecting her thoughts as she recited the chant, "For to live is to attain wisdom. Through knowledge attained in our lives, we rise above all and become paragons of glory and virtue. Through regret attained in our lives, we bare our fangs against the pain and shield the helpless. I release the battered chains of your soul, and stand by your side through death and time. I carry your heart past its limits, and by my shoulder, arm thee."

"Well, now," Jaune commented, after a lengthy pause, "I think I know my chants, considering what Pyrrha did with me at Initiation, but that sounds oddly like an Aura Awakening chant, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Nora quipped in, "'glory and virtue' seems like a dead giveaway."

"You never do anything by half, do you kiddo," Qrow said. "Well, that confirms some of my suspicions."

"What suspicions?" Jaune asked.

"For starters," Qrow began, "my Aura got a super-charge."

"Hey, yeah," Nora interjected, "the doctors said that Tyrian's poison was really powerful, you shouldn't even be standing right now! Let alone talking to us!"

"I'll say it another way," Qrow said, "my Aura got a _permanent_ super-charge. As in my max Aura capacity increased. A lot."

"And with that, you must have gotten an increased Aura regeneration as well," Ren said, "which explains how you recovered so quickly, even by Huntsman standards. But that's not all there is to it, is it?"

"Heh, nope," replied Qrow, popping the 'p'.

"So then, what," Jaune asked. "What did you get that's so much better than more Aura?"

"It should be obvious by now, Jaune. But," Ren adopted a pensive expression, "if that is indeed the case, it goes against everything we as Huntsmen understand about Aura."

"Are you saying I changed Qrow's Semblance?" Ruby said. Qrow laughed, covering his mouth as though to hide it. Ruby stared at him, her expression halfway between curious and glaring.

"That was exactly what I first thought too, word for word," Qrow said, "but no."

"Then _what?_" Ruby asked.

"It's simple, and yet so impossible," Jaune realized, eyes widening to an impossible degree as he turned back to Qrow. "You gave him a second Semblance."

"Uh, _no,_" Nora stated, "people _can't_ have two Semblances in them at once. Remember in class? Having two Semblances'll blow you up! Literally, boom!"

"And yet, we have a contradiction to that statement standing in front of us," Ren countered. He looked at Qrow, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Judging by the way our conversation is going, I assume you've already figured out what it is?"

"Yeah," Qrow affirmed. He looked Ruby in the eyes. "And Rubes, I'm gonna say something you won't like. You'll try to run, and I know because you've done it before. I want you to stay seated. If you don't, I'm banning cookies while we're here in Mistral."

"I can make my own cookies, Uncle Qrow," she retorted.

"Which is why I'll be regulating what food we're buying when we get settled in if you don't keep seated."

"Sitting down now!"

"Good. Now," Qrow sighed tiredly, the bags under his eyes now visible to everyone present, "there's not really an easy way to say this, so I'll say it upfront. I can talk to ghosts now."

"Whoa," Nora yelled excitedly, "you mean like 'I-see-dead-people', or you have hallucinations, or–"

"Nora," Ren interrupted. Nora quieted down, their routine down to an ingrained habit. The the two and Jaune looked warily at Ruby, noticing that her once happy smile was flipped into an uncomfortable-looking frown.

"Uncle Qrow...who did you see?"

"Rubes–"

_"Who did you see, Uncle Qrow?"_ Ruby practically growled.

Qrow sighed again. "I saw Summer, Ruby."

A long silence followed the statement, Ruby's head down with her hair shadowing over her eyes. Her legs twitched, as though she deciding whether or not to risk losing access to her culinary addiction. Finally, after what seemed like a century, she raised her head up, her eyes filled with a steel that unnerved everyone in the room but her uncle.

"What did she say," her voice whispered silently, as though having forgotten her voice.

"Well," he replied thoughtfully, his fingers scratching his hairy chin, "this morning, she said pretty much what you'd expect her to say. 'Tell Ruby I love her', 'Tell Yang to stop mothering Ruby all the time', that kind of thing. Yesterday, though, she chewed me out for, well...the usual stuff. There _is_ a funny story she told me then, however."

"Ooh, I _love_ stories! Especially if they're blackmail!" Nora giggled.

"Heh, I don't doubt that. So," he smirked, "did Goodwitch ever tell you guys about the Tapioca Incident?"

"Yeah," Jaune laughed, "back at the start of first term, beginning of like, what...third day of combat class, Professor Goodwitch told us a story about how she got put in the hospital because someone filled her pudding with superglue. Yang went and said it was Raven Branwen who did it — your sister, which...it seems obvious now I think about it — and Professor Goodwitch used it as a lesson to ward people away from letting pranks go too far. Didn't seem to stop Cardin, though..."

"Well, turns out it wasn't Raven after all. Turns out it was all an accident, because Sum went and sat on a tube of the stuff and got it all in Glynda's bowl of tapioca."

"That was _mom?_" Ruby shrieked, surprised.

"Yeah, and my sister went and covered for her. Turns out Rae did have a heart after all...even if Summer had to pay for Dust on their next outing."

"Is...is mom still here?" Ruby muttered.

"Yeah, Rubes. She's, uh...currently hovering over Nora's pancakes, actually."

He forced down a chuckle as he looked towards Nora. Undeniably, Nora hugged the last of her pancakes while simultaneously scarfing them down. Summer's ghost stared hungrily at her pancakes, the tiniest drop of saliva hanging from the side of her mouth as she licked her lips in longing.

He took a look at his own plate, and cut a slice of fluffy pancake before putting it in his mouth. _Not bad,_ he thought, and he sat down between Ruby and Jaune. Taking that as their own cue, the rest (including Nora, who got an extra helping of pancakes and a large smile from Ren) joined in silence. After several minutes, the group finished eating with satisfied smiles. After thanking Ren, Ruby turned her attention back to Qrow.

"Uncle Qrow...everything you said, about seeing mom's ghost, about having a second Semblance...is it really true?"

"Yeah kiddo, it is," he said.

"What're we gonna do, then," Jaune asked.

"Same as we always do," Nora answered, "we stick together and help each other out. Isn't that right, Ren?" Ren confirmed her statement by nodding.

"Speaking of 'together'," Ruby suddenly smiled widely, pointing to Ren and Nora, "I spy with my little eye, two hands holding each other~"

"Hehe, yeah," Nora replied sheepishly, a blush brighter than her skirt coloring her face. She raised her closed hand up, revealing her and Ren's hands intertwined. "When we were on the flight to Mistral, we decided to stop kidding ourselves and got together. So...there you are! Renny and I are together-together now!"

"How many kids are you planning on?" Jaune joked.

"U-Um," Nora stuttered, "a couple at least?"

Ruby gasped, "No way!"

"Holy crap, guys, I was joking. Are you serious?"

Ren nodded silently, his own blush as deep as Nora's.

"Get married, then," inserted an amused Qrow.

"W-We don't want to go too fast, though," Nora stuttered, with a shyness no one thought her capable of displaying, "We thought we'd sort out some of our priorities before we got married to each other."

"I'm not talking about 'too fast'," Qrow replied. "The two of you are clearly happy with each other, from what Ruby's told me about the two of you while...while Oz was alive..." He paused, then shook his head and continued, "From what she said, you two grew up depending on each other. And now you're together, and clearly thinking about kids. You should get married."

"What brought this on, Uncle Qrow?"

"Well," Qrow contemplates, "I'm not saying you _need_ to rush things. But the two of you should think about doing it before you miss your chance. Times are getting really tough now, and they're only going to get tougher. You two need each other and meld together like bread and butter, and you clearly want to get married, so...start planning for it, at least. That's my advice."

"You know," Ren stated, "I don't think that's a bad idea at all, Qrow. We'll think about it." He smiled at Nora, whose eyed widened to pancake-shaped circles, glistening with unshed tears. As a happy tear fell from one of them, she leapt forward and hugged Ren tightly.

Qrow, sensing the mood, quietly got up from his chair, nodding to Ren. Ren nodded back at him before returning to hugging his girlfriend. Jaune placed his hand on Ren's shoulder and congratulated the two. Ruby, meanwhile, stared after Qrow before following him.

As Qrow reached his temporary room, Ruby grabbed his wrist and twisted him around.

"Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah kiddo?"

"I...I want you to tell me the truth."

"I wasn't lying when I told you about–"

"This isn't about that," she interrupted, a calculated look on her face. "I know you too well, Uncle Qrow. The most you joke with anyone these days is with Dad, and it's only to get him riled up for a few minutes to get him out of his depression. You wouldn't joke about something serious like this, but...I just had to know. Sorry."

"It's okay, Rubes."

"Alright...so, I need you to tell me the truth again, then. Even if it hurts. Can you do that, Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah, but let's go in here first." Qrow opened the door to his room and walked in, his niece closing the door behind her. As the two sat on his bed, he gestured for her to continue.

"Uncle Qrow, I want you to tell it to me straight...did you love my mom?"

Qrow sighed. "Somehow I knew you were going to ask me that question."

"Well?"

"The answer is...shit, I've already opened my dumb mouth too many times today, one more won't hurt. Alright Ruby, yes. I loved Summer. And today I found out she loved me back, too."

"Did she love dad?"

"I don't really know, squirt. I...I honestly don't think so. Not like how he loved Raven."

She let out a breath. "I had a feeling. All this time, nothing added up. And now it kinda makes sense."

"Ruby, your dad loves you more than anything."

"Of-I know he does! This isn't...I just always saw you with this terrible look on your face every time you took me to mom's grave. Dad's was always bad, sure, but yours was like...it was like I was literally watching you die inside every time. That's, well, one of the main reasons I went to mom's grave alone most of the time. So you didn't have to tear yourself apart for it."

"I'm sorry, Ruby."

"It's okay, Uncle Qrow. I just...I have a lot to think about now. Thanks for telling me, though...I really appreciate it."

After her thanks, she hugged her uncle tightly before getting up. As she opened the door, she looked back. "I love you, Uncle Qrow. And...you too, mom."

"Love you too, pipsqueak. Don't stay up too late, we, um...we've got a lot to talk about tomorrow too."

She nods, then closed the door after wishing him goodnight. Qrow let out a massive sigh as he lays back on his bed.

_She'll be alright, Qrow. You did a good thing for her today, with everything._

"I don't know, Sum...I hope so."

_Don't be like that, she'll pop right back up like she always does. In any case, you need some shut-eye as well. And I need to come up with ways to murder Salem and her lackeys for putting my girl through all this._

"Don't worry, I am. After everything that's been happening, I need a long rest."

_...I love you, Qrow._

"Love you too, Flower."


	4. Chapter 3 - Knowing A Hidden Truth

**I think this could go without being said, but I'm just going to clarify that I _will__ not_ try to upload on a schedule. I have to deal with too many things for that, and I want to keep my uploads fun for myself as well as for you all; if it's not fun, I get Writer's Block and I really don't want that. So, I'll be doing my uploads whenever I wish. I hope you all understand.  
As for the story, it might feel a bit slow this chapter. This and the previous chapter are set between Volumes 4 and 5, and I'm using that as an excuse to help everyone get used to the characters' personality changes. Ruby is more intuitive and less bubbly (not any less excitable, though) and Qrow will transition over time into being less brooding and more protective. The other characters are also changing in their own ways, but I'll leave it to you to find the differences.  
I hope you all enjoy the story. Until next time!**

~Chapter 3~

Qrow's sleep that night, much to his displeasure the following morning, hadn't been quite as peaceful as he would have hoped. With the revelations of the previous day plaguing his mind, he hadn't quite slept as much as he wanted to. Still, he thought, waking up to the sight of your former leader and schoolyard crush isn't such a bad way to wake up.

_Morning, sleepyhead,_ she said in his mind, her unmoving lips in the shape of a smile.

"'Sup, airhead?" he replied.

She didn't fall for his bait. _You didn't sleep well._

"Nah, I slept like a babe."

_If by 'babe', you mean like how Ruby slept when she was born...yes, you definitely did._

"So you're watching me in my sleep now?"

_Yes I am, lover boy,_ she responded, _I've had quite a lot of my schedule freed up for the past decade, considering I'm a disembodied soul and all that. My academy crush risks life and limb for my children every day of his life and barely sleeps at all, so yes...when he finally has the first semi-peaceful, _sober_ sleep he's had in years, you can bet your sweet ass I'm watching him._

"Sum-"

_Don't start, please._ So, she said, floating over him so he's staring at the ceiling through her head, _schedule for today. Now._

Qrow cringed slightly at the sight of her defying mortal physics. "That's really creepy."

_Do something about it._

"Of course. Let's just move you out of the way with my big, meaty, ghost-grabbing hands." He clenched and unclenched his hands to drive the point home.

_Definitely the first two..._ Qrow heard her mutter. _Uh, moving on! Yes, schedule, so..._ she moved onto his mattress instead so she looked like she was laying down beside him. He relaxed his cringe into a more passive frown.

"Well, first I need to get up and get dressed."

_Can you humor me and take this seriously for five seconds?_

"I could, but it's starting to become _clear_ to me how much I like seeing you flustered."

That pun was so bad that I'm not even going to chastise you for it. I'll just let it sink in and make you wallow in misery over it. I hope you realize the level of stupidity you just released into the world.

"Okay, okay, I'm done fooling around." He waved his arms apologetically. "I need to tell the kids about what you told me yesterday before I talked with the kids. About Lionheart. Now," he looked at her with a very serious expression, "I get that he's not the most..._outgoing_ individual out there. But to say he's on _Salem's_ side? What brought this on?"

_I've been spying on him since around 8 months before the Vytal Tournament._

"Sunflower, I trust you with my life. Even with you being a ghost. But Leonardo, lion-hearted or not, would never have betrayed Ozpin. He's in our Inner Circle, why would he just throw that away to side with the enemy? What do you even have on him?"

_He has digital communication with Arthur Watts, for one. He personally signed the papers for Cinder Fall's "enrollment" at Haven Academy. He has a Class D-3 honest-to-gods _Seer_ living in his closet._

"Excuse me?!"

_Yeah, a Seer. Y'know, jellyfish Grimm with a spherical body and spiked tentacles. He uses it to talk with Salem. Directly. And being that they normally start out at Combat Rank E-1 and have a variance of 6...yeah._

Qrow paused. "_Please_ tell me you're shitting me."

_I wish I was._

"This...this just got ten times worse. Fifty times worse. If what you're saying is true, then-! H-He knows Ozpin's biggest plans! And he has direct correspondence with _Salem?!_"

_I'm sorry._

"I just can't...gods, I need to get the kids out of here–"

_No._

"Summer, this is way out of their league! You can't just expect them to go in there with flowers and chocolate when there's a gods-damned _Grimm_ waiting to strangle them at a moment's notice!"

_And if they don't? What then? Qrow, this is my _daughter_ at risk against a _traitor to humanity!_ But what if it was just you going in alone?_

She sighs a great sigh before continuing, glazed orbs looking depressingly through him. _I hate this as much as you do. If I was alive, I'd go in there right now and skin his cowardly hide. But..._

"I know," Qrow whispered. "I hate it too, but dammit you're right. He's expecting the kids...if he doesn't see the kids, he'll get suspicious. And that's not even starting on – wait a sec, I was going to give him Raven's location!"

_Might as well give it to him._

"What? Why?!"

_Because she needs to be drawn out. Yes, it's by Salem's forces...but it'd be better for us if we can control how they move and draw Raven out at the same time, so we'll have an advantage against both of them. 'Kill two birds with one stone', as the saying goes._

"Unoriginal jokes aside," he slightly growled, "you're making Raven a scapegoat?"

_No. I...used to think along those lines after she up and left, but no, I'm not. We're merely...putting her in a position she can't refuse._

"You're using Raven as a decoy to delay Salem's plans...I take it I'm training the rugrats, then?"

_Yep,_ she affirmed, popping the "p" again, _but we'll go over the fine points of that later. First, we need to tell the kids about Lionheart._

"Might as well get your insight on why you agree with me. So, why?"

_Because we have too much to lose if they let anything slip. Especially because of...y'know, this._ She pointed to him, then at herself. _If Leonardo took the existence of the Second Semblance to Salem, then we might as well admit defeat right here. Plus, I feel like we've kept the children in the dark too long, have we not?_

"Heh, there's a reason why you were always the brains of the team, Flower."

_Of course! What else would you expect from my supreme awesomeness?_

The two chuckled, relieving some tension from their conversation. Qrow grimaced at the door as though it were made of a smelly, sticky goo.

"I'm too damn sober for this."

_Hush. You're good as you'll ever be._

"Everything's going to go to shit, isn't it?"

_It won't. Believe that, please. And if you can't, then believe in me._

"What if I fuck everything up?"

_Then I'll be right here fucking up with you, floating body and everything that comes with it._

"...Thanks, Leader."

_That's what I'm here for! Now come, let's get this over with..._

* * *

"So," said Jaune.

"Yep," Qrow replied.

"This...just went up to Danger Level Max," said Ren.

"That's putting it lightly," stated his girlfriend. "We're walking into what's pretty much enemy territory now, and we have to keep a smile on our faces the whole time?"

"No, that'd be if everything was hunky-dory and we weren't dealing with Salem at our doorstep," Qrow rebuked.

"Thanks for telling us, Uncle Qrow," Ruby says with a small smile, "and he means that we just go in like we were going to in the first place. Just...not saying anything about anything to the Headmaster."

"Oof, yeah," Jaune includes, "imagine if we told him about Qrow's new Semblance? I don't even want to think about it."

"So, u-um," Ruby stuttered, "what does mom think about all this?"

"She was the one who told me everything in the first place."

"That does makes sense," Ren confirmed, looking at Qrow. "You've been in bed this whole time, and our mission in the first place was to give Lionheart information about the plot against Haven Academy. Going by what you've told us, he's close enough to Ozpin that no one would even _think_ to suspect him. Summer Rose, meanwhile, has a..._convenient_ ability to observe things without being noticed. Or interacted with."

"Until now," Jaune added in. Ren nodded.

Ruby breathed. "This won't be pleasant at all, will it?"

"Likely not, pipsqueak."

Ren raised his head up higher. "I take it there's more?"

Qrow shook his head uncomfortably, "Yeah, but...it's sensitive information. Too sensitive to say in detail in an area like this. We're already pushing it talking about Lionheart like this where people can potentially overhear."

Ruby's eyes brightened, some of her worries forgotten at the implication of his words. She hopped in place excitedly. "So we're finally going into Mistral?"

"Yep."

"Let's take the time to enjoy ourselves, then," Nora butted in. "We cool off and prepare ourselves for Lionheart so we can break his legs!"

"We're not doing any leg-breaking yet, Nora," Ren said.

"You mentioned a yet~"

"Promises of much-deserved limb-based injuries aside," Ruby said, "Nora's right. We should all take some time to unwind a little in Mistral before we see him. And break his legs," she added quickly, earning a small cheer from Nora.

"Just tell us something before we leave, Qrow," said Jaune. "This 'sensitive information' you're not telling us yet, what're you doing with it?"

"Well, our esteemed Headmaster's been hungry for info. So I'm gonna give it to him."

"Does it involve mom?" Ruby asked.

"Nope, it's something I was going to include with our mission details already. Let's just say, as Summer put it, we're 'killing two birds with one stone'."

"I trust you then," Ruby smiled. She turned around, a hand caressing her folded Crescent Rose as she placed it on her back. "Now onward! Off to the city of Mistral!"

"_After_ we sign out of the hospital."

"Hehe, right. Out of the hospital first, _then Mistral!_"

* * *

"Did we really have to walk," Nora complained.

"Thought you kids wanted to go on the scenic route," Qrow said.

"A healthy walk is good for the heart," Jaune said, before following up with thoughtful look on his face, "or so my mom always said."

"Great advice to follow," Ruby replied, before the group fell into silence for several minutes. Ruby looked between Nora and Ren, seeing their hands intertwined. Her eyes momentarily switched to Jaune, but they immediately went in the other direction. A deep, regretful frown clouded her former smile with Qrow noticing unbeknownst to her.

Qrow took the time to study Ruby as they walked. Despite the smile she kept on her face most of the time, he knew Ruby more than well enough to know how hard the recent events were on her. She'd lost some good friends, one of which he was partially responsible in making happen. He knew that one of the main reasons Ruby left Patch was because more than anything — more than even her family — she'd needed her friends, those who had lost as much and even more than she had.

He glanced at the Ark and knew he felt the same as Ruby. He empathized with the boy, as his own leader (currently floating soundlessly behind the group) had been taken from the world long before her time. He remembered Ruby mentioning that Pyrrha had confronted Cinder Fall right after kissing the boy. _It's no wonder he's so serious about his training, _Qrow thought,_ but maybe I can use that to my advantage to make it more effective. He could definitely use some mobility, and a ranged weapon in his lacking arsenal would go a long way for him._

Taking a look at Ren and Nora, he started contemplating his life choices. Ren shouldn't be to tough to train, but he didn't want to risk stirring up more hidden baggage when they already have to deal with Lionheart's betrayal. Nora, on the other hand, is the opposite; no visible baggage, but would be a lot of work to deal with. He'd likely need Jaune and Ren to give him some insight on her quirks.

_Doesn't look like they'll be too difficult for you to train them, I think,_ Summer commented. Qrow kept silent and listened to her, choosing to let the children enjoy their moment of silence.

_The real problem,_ she continued, noting his attention, _is looking for a spot somewhat close to the academy where Lionheart can't spy on any of you. Depending on how your meeting goes you might be allowed to have access to the forest to slay some Grimm, but even then it looks like you'll have a close eye on you. You five just being here makes you his target. It'll be even harder to keep attention off of you if anyone else we know arrives._

Qrow hummed in thought. He knew he'd end up meeting up with his sister (even if he sometimes wished they weren't related) once he and the kids got everything situated, but he never thought of the possibility of more arriving. Now that he thought about it, he just _knew_ Yang just had to be out there on Bumblebee by now, searching for Raven again. Tai would obviously be staying home, as he couldn't really _leave_ Patch right now, and despite what happened to her the Firecracker hadn't completely lost her bang. Back to Yang, he had a feeling Raven would dump her daughter on him once the women met. He supposed, then, that the Gods would probably bring the rest of Team RWBY together at some point...during his time at Beacon, he'd gone through so much more cliche shit that he thought it was some kind of hereditary curse.

_The thing I'm most worried about is his reaction to Ruby and her Silver Eyes,_ she concluded. _We can't avoid meeting with him, nor can we leave anyone out. Plus, he already knows she has the Eyes; honestly, he's likely just going to lay it on for the dramatic tension, preying on the 'fact' that you all don't know what I told you. Once we meet with him, though, it'll be like flipping a switch. Like, the 'now that she's here, we can start with our evil plans' switch. So you're gonna need to fully prepare them all — especially Ruby — for the confrontation, 'cause once we go back to our lodging we're on a thin timer._

"You're talking with mom again, aren't you?" Ruby asked. Qrow looked at Ruby, and notes the others are also doing so.

"More like she's talking to me, we can't read each others' minds."

"Oh, that's...kinda interesting, actually. I thought ghosts could?"

"How many movies did you binge watch to figure that out?"

"I'll have you know it was from a book. No movies involved!"

"It was **The Man With Two Souls**. One of the only books Ruby read before the, uh...the Filth Purge." Jaune looked awkwardly to the side as he said this.

"Rubes got her hands on the catgirl's erotica and threw it in a bonfire," Qrow stated.

"You knew?"

"Course I knew, pipsqeak. Kinda hard not to after finding out from Oz that my stolen alcohol was used as lighter fluid." Ruby had the decency to laugh sheepishly as Qrow half-glared at her.

"Back to the topic at hand," Ren said, "I doubt what Summer said is something we can talk about out here, right?"

Qrow nodded, placing a hand on his flask. "Right. Just...she says to be careful. And to find a place to train where we won't be watched."

"That's not suspicious at all," Nora commented sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe we should let them watch," Jaune stated. Everyone's eyes now went to him, and he flinched under the new pressure. "I mean, just think about it," he explained, "Beacon fell, and we're here in Mistral to talk to Lionheart about...things. What does he expect us to do in the meantime?"

"He does have a point," Ruby said. "If we look like we're trying to hide stuff from him, he'll get suspicious. And...let's say he does have us watched. If whoever he sends to watch us eventually stop watching us..."

"Then we'll know something's up because he's using them for more important things than watching his former allies' movements," Ren said. "And with everything that's going on right now, he can't just use random students as spies or he'll get found out. The few people he _could_ use that wouldn't raise suspicion with us would be spread so thin that any change to their routine will be obvious."

"I don't give you kids enough credit," Qrow commented thoughtfully, "that's some good deductive reasoning."

"Anyone would learn something after watching Sun and Neptune flounder about...uh, no offense to them," said Ruby, twiddling her fingers. "Oh, but we should take care of any electronics he has put up, too. If he's talking with someone electronically, then he can hear us talking electronically too, right?"

"True," Qrow commented, "I'll have the place debugged when we get to our lodging. Maybe it'll give Nora an excuse to train her Semblance."

"So we're really gonna act like everything's normal, then?" Nora asked.

"Only until we have to start breaking legs," replied Jaune, earning a small smile from the hyperactive girl.

"_Yay!_ Also, sure I'll help debug. Ren and I, uh...had to do our fair share of it before Beacon. And extra tips on it wouldn't hurt."

"Looks like we're here."

Ren's exclamation stole everyone's attention. Indeed, their path was impeded by a pair of large metallic doors, signalling Mistral's entrance. Qrow chuckled, grabbing and pulling the doorknobs.

As the party got used to the daylight, Ruby jogged forward to lean on the railing. The landscape ahead was beautiful, with foliage covering most of the area. On the mountainside sat many traditional-looking houses, and a man-made waterfall cascaded down with clean, shining water. With the water vapor in the air due to the waterfall and Mistral's post-rain weather, the sunshine created a slight fog in the distance, adding to the city's unique charm.

"This. Is. _Awesome!_" Ruby yelled, arms splayed out to take in all the scenery at once. "It's beautiful!"

"It's something, alright," Qrow affirmed, the rest of the group taking some time to see Mistral for themselves.

"You don't like it?" Ren asked.

"Meh, it's not that bad...I'd give it 7.8."

"Why not 8?" Nora asked.

"Too much water," the Branwen answered.

Summer laughed. _Remember when we were sent here in our second year to help with the Nevermore outbreak, and you got tossed in the waterfall by one of them? You rode it down like a wave, and when you got down to the bottom you made the _biggest_ splash ever!_

"_Way_ too much water..." He shivered.

"Will we be staying together or splitting up?" Ren asked.

"It shouldn't hurt to split up," Jaune answered, "but just in case, we shouldn't venture too far from each other. Keep an eye on one another."

"Except Drunkle Qrow, he'll probably head to the closest bar," Ruby half-joked.

"Ye of little faith, I'll save that until _after_ our meeting with the esteemed Headmaster," the Drunkle retorted, "the Brothers know I'll need one after this mess."

"Sounds good," Ruby said. She grinned, leading the way as they began the rest of their walk into Mistral.


	5. Chapter 4 - Relaxing Before the Meeting

**Hello again, everyone! Rubles here with another chapter of MotSS! I just want to say YAY that I've finally fixed the story's grammar issues. It took me a few months to do so (between getting the motivation to write the new chapter AND to update each chapter's grammar), but it's done. To my readers, thank you for being patient for this new chapter.  
****Speaking of, this chapter is the last transition chapter — the last one before we start to see events we can recognize from canon. Leading off from last chapter, the group is taking a little bit of time to mentally prepare themselves for the meeting with the Headmaster. There's...not much more I want to say about it without spoiling anything in it, so that's all you'll get about it!  
****I hope this wasn't too long of a wait for you guys. With the stuff I have to be thinking about in this story, between 3 and 4 weeks is a good amount of time for me to upload chapters. I hope it's not too slow for you all, but I'm doing it this way so I don't burn out my imagination too quickly. I have many things planned for this story, but I need for everything between to be just as good as those moments.  
****By the way, there's something of a reference I put in this chapter. It should be easy to find if you know what to look for.  
****Anywho...that's pretty much it! See you guys when the next chapter comes out. Until next time~**

~Chapter 4~

The trip to Mistral's shopping center, despite how it appeared from the doors, didn't take very long. With a large series of stairs (incredibly _durable_ stairs, Qrow thought absentmindedly) built into the mountainside, making it to ground level and then the vendors took no time at all. As they walked, Nora mentioned that Haven Academy is up the mountain, so they'd begrudgingly need to take the stairs again after they finished in the city.

As they collectively nodded, they found themselves at the stalls. From fruits and meat to weapons and Dust, many different items were displayed throughout the area. Many other civilian luxury items, like clothing and jewelry, were also in stock. Many people walked and talked around them, living their own lives and discussing their own gossip with not a care in the world. Qrow let himself give a small smile, happy that people were still able to find a form of peace even with the Grimm threat at their borders.

"Ooh, Uncle Qrow, look!" Ruby said excitedly, beaming childishly as she swerved her head at each shopping center. "They have weapons! Oh, and there's a smithy, I've been wanting to get some maintenance done on Crescent Rose for a while now...oh, and there's–"

"Rubes, slow down a bit," Qrow said, placing a hand on her head as though to prevent a possible injury from occurring, "we're just here to cool off before seeing the Headmaster, nothing more. We have plenty of time for heavy shopping later, 'kay?"

"Alright, Uncle Qrow," she replied with a pout, although her smile never left her face as she turned to the rest of Team RNJR. "So who's going with who?"

"Nora and I were thinking of walking through here together," said Ren, "if you want, you can walk around together with Jaune."

"Actually," Jaune said, "I want to talk to Qrow about something. I'll only be a couple minutes, and then I'll get Ruby from you guys?"

Ren and Nora looked at each other with a small frown, but upon seeing the expression on Jaune's face they nodded. Ruby glanced at Jaune with a worried look in her eyes, but she followed the two as Jaune and Qrow walked to a less crowded area.

"What'd you want to talk about?" Qrow asked.

"You could probably guess."

"I could, and I think I already know what you want to ask, but I'd like you to ask me straight."

Jaune sighed. "Have you, um...have you seen Pyrrha yet?"

"Nope, though to be fair Summer's currently the only one I've seen. I thought that with it being Mistral I'd have seen at least one other than her, but no dice."

"I had a feeling...I just had to check. I mean, you did just get it but I just thought she would've shown up by now..."

The two stood in a short silence, with Jaune looking slightly uncomfortable. Qrow sighed as well. "It's not easy, is it?"

"...No. It's not. And...and it'll never be. She's gone, Qrow. She...she was _right there._ She kissed me and then walked right to her death, and she was _right there_ and I couldn't do _anything._ She was right there in front of me, and I stupidly let her go to fight that _monster._ And now we're about to walk in and greet the one who sent that bitch to Beacon like he's an old friend...?

"You're damn right it's not easy," he continued, clenching his fists in barely-controlled anger while he glared at the ground. "I want nothing more right now than to punch you and Ozpin and Ironwood and anyone else who had a say in it for forcing that burden on her. But I just...most of all, _I just want Pyrrha back._" Jaune's voice cracked, and his eyes were closed with a few tears streaming down. "I want to go to Beacon with her standing there waving awkwardly to me, I want her to be training me into the ground until I'm exhausted, I...I wanted to hold her back and keep her from martyring herself because no one else could do anything to Cinder. And now I can't...but you know what's worse?"

"What?" Qrow asked solemnly.

"That I know you've gone through the same thing, hell you've gone through even worse than I have. Ruby...she didn't have to tell me, but she told me that you and her mom were close. You've been having to keep all this hate bottled inside you for this long...and if it were me, I would have gone crazy a long time ago."

"I...I know, Jaune."

"Qrow," Jaune asked, looking up to the man, "I'm going to kill Cinder. I'm going to make her pay for every slight she's inflicted on humanity until she _begs_ for death. And...I know, somehow, that it's not what Pyrrha would want, but I don't care. Cinder needs to _pay_, and she will pay."

"She and the rest of them will, kid," Qrow said. "And I'll do what I can to find your girl. If she has anything on Cinder, it'll make things a lot easier."

"You're...not trying to talk me out of it?"

"Nope. You're going through your own pain, and I know better than most people that the only way to get closure from a friend's murder is to take down the murderer. Hell, what could _I_ say to sway you from what you want to do when I can't even follow that same advice? Just...don't let it take over your life, alright kid? Take it from the guy who's ignored his own advice his whole life: you have a bunch of friends in the same boat as you who want her taken out just as badly if not more than you do. Don't push 'em out like I did mine, Jaune."

Jaune looked at him quizzically. "You're being oddly philosophical for someone who's supposed to be permanently half-drunk. You've _been_ a lot more philosophical since...well, since Summer happened. You think that has something to do with it?"

Qrow laughed. "Maybe. I guess I've been a bit more open lately, what with everything going on lately and Ruby finally starting to grow out of her shell. And yeah, I guess getting to see and talk to Summer again's been giving me some kind of closure. The gods know I need something to be happy about after the years of shit I've been through, even if it comes in the weirdest ways."

Jaune smiled widely, the corners of his mouth stretching awkwardly like they had been unused to the action for a long time. "That's true. We all need something to be happy about these days. Let's just hope that this thing with Lionheart doesn't go pear-shaped."

"Just be prepared for anything. Speaking of, I think Ruby's been waiting long enough for her tour guide."

"Oh, r-right. I guess I've kept her waiting long enough. Stay safe then, Qrow!"

"Same to you, kid..._he's got it so bad for her,_" Qrow muttered after the boy ran off. In the corner of his eye, he saw Summer floating towards him with a neutral look on her face. "How's everything going, Sum?"

_As good as expected, which is to say we're still pretty screwed. But at least the children aren't being tailed by Lionheart's students right now._

"You're sure?"

_Yep,_ she said, popping the "p", _it's a wonder what you're capable of noticing when you don't have to worry about others noticing you. And there hasn't been anything out the ordinary following them, luckily._

"Describe ordinary."

_Ozpin didn't tell you, huh? Well, there are a bunch of spy organizations throughout the city of Mistral, the most dangerous of them known as "Little Miss Malachite's Spiders"._

"I know about 'em. But Oz assured me that they wouldn't be a problem. They look out for themselves before their customers."

_And who'd logically be their biggest customer right now, if he decided to hire their services?_

"That'd be Leo-oh. But...would he even be willing to spend that much on us, though? He betrayed us, sure, but they don't come cheap."

_Fear is a great motivator, Qrow. And while Lionheart betrayed us, he obviously didn't do it because he wanted to. Ozpin wouldn't have put any trust in him in the first place if he was like that. And I don't think Salem has any problems with forcing Lionheart to use Haven's funds for her benefit._

"Doesn't make it any better."

_No, it doesn't. But at least we have a sliver of hope here._

"Hmm...you said the Spiders were the _most_ dangerous spy organization."

_Correct. They mostly keep any other groups from forming, but there's one group that's managed to survive even until now. They're not very well-known — which would be the main reason they haven't been eliminated yet — but they are known to their customers to have somewhat positive morals. A dangerous thing to have for a group of assassins, but–_

"It's also our best chance at staying safe. What're they called?"

_The Dusk Hawks. And they live up to that name, so don't even think about getting on their bad side._

"Right, right..."

_Qrow, I'm serious. With the stakes as high as they are right now, you five can't afford to piss them off. It's cliche to no end, but humanity's survival may well depend on how things go with the Hawks._

"I know, Sum. I'm just..." Qrow wearily sighed, slumping his back against the wall he was leaning on, "I don't know how we're gonna get out of this. Oz is gone, Leo defected, the kids have been going through so much shit that I'm worried they'll outdo _us_ in mental scarring by their retirement...and if Yang's gotten out of her funk, she's more than likely hunting for Raven, and only the gods know how _that's_ gonna go."

_All we can do is have faith in them, Fi. And help them become stronger for the days to come._

"Okay, seriously? You still call me that silly nickname?"

_You know I never took into that "bad luck" spiel. Why shouldn't I give you a name that doesn't have a reminder of that? Besides, I think Fiyero is a good, quality name._

"It's complicated and no one would remember it. Except you, apparently."

_That's why I shortened it to Fi, birdbrain. Besides, Fiyero sounds like "fire". And what the kids need more than anything right now is a light to guide their way._

"Let's hope they don't stand too close to the flame then, or they might get burned."

_Qrow, please, you know your Semblance can't actually be bad luck–_

"Drop. It."

Summer sighed. _Fine. But we're talking about this later. For now, we should get to watching the kids. It's almost time._

"Alright. You go on ahead, I'll catch up in a sec."

_...'Kay. But Qrow, please,_ she said, floating closer to him so she was practically in contact with him, _take your own advice. You have the kids, and you have me. Think on it._

As Summer floated off, Qrow put his hand up to his face. "Of course she was listening in, why am I not surprised?"

* * *

"This city really is beautiful," Ruby commented, spinning around to view everything she could. "The trees, the houses, the waterfall, the vendors, the people walking and talking so peacefully with each other. It's kinda like Vale before everything happened, but different in a way."

"It seems...off, somehow," Ren said. Ruby turned her head to look at him, confused.

"Yeah," Nora continued, discomfort in her eyes, "I didn't really notice from the mountainside, but it's awfully sparse right now. At least from what we remember."

"That's right, you two were from...you must have come here after that, right?"

"Y-Yes," Ren shakily replied. Ruby could tell how uncomfortable he still was talking about Kuroyuri, even with the Nuckelavee's death. Ruby mentally swore to do what she could to help him get over it.

"When we were last here," Nora said, "Monday was always the busiest day of the week — _no exceptions._ Prices were always at their lowest every Monday, so people came to buy. No one, and I mean _no one_ had room to walk through here back then because it was so packed. Compared to what it used to be, it's like a ghost town now. I doubt there'll even be anyone here tomorrow, selling _or_ buying."

"Oh..." Ruby said awkwardly, before she perked up, "I guess that just means we should do some shopping now instead of after our meeting. I know I'm getting low on ammo for Crescent here, and with what you're saying now's the best time to restock. Especially if...y'know, stuff happens."

Ren agreed. "You're right. I didn't realize until we left...I mean, until we arrived in Mistral, but I'm nearly out of Dust for StormFlower. It wouldn't be wise of us to let our inventory stay depleted when we have the perfect chance to fill it up."

"And I need to polish out some dents on Maginhild," Nora inserted, "though...that'd be better saved until after we get moved in our new place."

"Yeah, I was thinking about getting Crescent Rose worked on but she could wait for a bit. She took a couple heavy hits but — oh, Jaune! How'd your talk with Uncle Qrow go?"

Jaune waved, walking up to the three from a little ways down the street. "Hey guys. Yeah, the talk was...pretty good, I guess. You guys want to go shopping?"

"We're gonna stop by to get some Dust first, and then we'll split up for a bit and meet back here?" Ren suggested.

"O-Oh right!" Jaune stuttered embarrassingly. "You two want to spend some time — right, of course we can split up!"

"That's not what I...well, you do have a point," Ren replied. "But I think it'd probably be best to save our time alone for when we're actually safe. B-But if Nora wants to do some sight-seeing, I won't object."

"_Maaaybe~_" Nora purred suggestively. Upon seeing the transfixed expression on Ren's face, she let out a loud laugh and grabbed his arm. "Come on, _lover boy._ Let's do some shopping!"

As Nora started dragging her still-dazed boyfriend to the Dust stall, Ruby and Jaune stared at them with their mouths open. Without removing her eyes from the two, Ruby blatantly stated, "Wow...Ren's _whipped._" Jaune, still in his own daze, couldn't help but agree with her statement as they followed the couple. After they finished buying some Dust (a lot less than they hoped, unfortunately), they split up into two groups to do their own things.

As a blushing Ren and smirking Nora made their way to an area nearer to Mistral's waterfall, Ruby and Jaune took some time to look through some more stalls. As they walked back and forth throughout the street, Jaune noticed that Ruby always kept looking at one selling clothing. Not one to ignore his curiosity (and amusement), he dragged her over to it and watched her eyes gravitate towards a pair of ballet slippers.

"You thinking of getting that?" Jaune asked her.

She bit her lip and looked down awkwardly, as though caught in some misdeed that he apparently didn't know she'd committed. "N-No, sorry. It's nothing. We should go get a bite to eat before we see the Headmaster."

She walked away briskly, looking very distracted as she walked over to a stall that clearly didn't sell food. Jaune looked back curiously at the shoes, asking for their price as he felt for his wallet. As he looked inside, he grimaced slightly at how little money he had...but thankfully there was enough. As he gave the woman a smile and most of his Lien, he took the ballet slippers from the shop and stashed them in the pocket of his Pumpkin Pete hoodie.

For several minutes, Ruby and Jaune walked throughout the street again, with Jaune's wallet crying out in agony at the pastry he was holding in a small bag. When Ruby noticed the ballet slippers missing, her eyes widened and then shrank in sadness. Jaune thought about revealing he'd bought them already, but gave her a one-armed hug instead. He didn't expect her to lean into his side in response, but he silently appreciated the action nonetheless.

"SO!" yelled Nora behind them, startling the two into separating from each other. "It looks like _you_ two were busy~"

"Not as much as you two apparently were, if Ren's expression is anything to go by," Jaune countered.

"Uh, wha, hm," Ren muttered distractedly, before focusing his eyesight on the bag in Jaune's hand, "did you buy cookies?"

"Heh, very subtle Ren," Jaune laughed, "yep, I got some for us and Qrow. My wallet's running a bit low now, but it's nothing a few Grimm bounties can't fix."

"Think we should get back to Uncle Qrow and head on up to the Headmaster, then?" Ruby asked.

The group donned a serious expression at her words, but they nodded all the same. As they walked back the way they came, they saw Qrow leaning back on the side of a building, looking in their direction. He glanced disinterestedly down at the bag, before his eyes then lit up at the offered cookie in Ruby's hands. He thanked her and took the treat, eating it slowly.

"Are we heading up there now or getting the place prepared first?" Nora asked.

Qrow tilted his head in the direction of the mountainside, atop which Haven Academy was located. "Up there first," he said, "we're already pushing it a bit on time, and we don't want to look _that_ rude to him."

"Are we really going to do this, then?" Jaune asked him.

"We haven't got much of a choice. And you kids sadly can't skip out on this lecture, so you better be on your best behavior."

"We're talking to _who_, now?" Ruby replied, wearing a satisfied smirk as he scoffed facetiously.

"Glad to see you all got some time to unwind. Especially _this_ half of the group," he commented, pointing a thumb at Ren and Nora who blushed slightly when the rest of the group giggled at his words.

"We did. Thanks for giving us some time, Uncle Qrow."

"Thank me tomorrow after I drown this meeting out of my mind..."

"Oh?" Ruby asked, surprised, "where'd you go, then?"

"A bit of watching you kids, another bit of scouting around. Speaking of, remind me to talk with you all about something serious later. Right now's not the time, 'specially since we should be making our way to Leo, but it's stuff you'll need to know as soon as possible."

The four Huntsmen-in-training nodded. As the five gathered their courage for the walk — and the climb — ahead, they all collectively felt in their souls that there was a dark storm brewing no matter what they had planned.


	6. Chapter 5 - Meeting the Headmaster

**Hello, this is Rubles with another new chapter!**  
**First off, it ended up being a little long. Whether I make that the new norm or not is something only Future Me will know, but for now you get to read around 6k words. Yay~**  
**Second, I know there will be some things repeated (or re-worded, but still borrowed) from V5 Chapter 1. While I'm making an effort to really divert the story from canon and not do things verbatim, I'm not going to stray too far at a time when I don't need to. The Butterfly Effect takes time, and despite the different mood in this chapter as compared to how it went in canon, it won't really make too much of an impact on the conversation despite the obvious.**  
**Third, sorry for the long time between uploads. I meant to get it posted within a month at most, but between the pandemic and many different things I'm having to worry about, I never really managed to get to sit down and type this as much as I wanted. So I'm not going to assume I'll get it done within a set time any more (at least until the pandemic is over); instead, I'll just upload when I upload.**  
**That's it this time. I hope you all enjoy the newest chapter of MotSS. See you guys when the next chapter comes out! Until next time~**

~Chapter 5~

To Ren and Nora, the steps leading up to Haven Academy had always instilled a sense of duty, of camaraderie. Before their journey to Vale to attend Beacon, this school always gave them a sense of warm protection. Hunters and Huntresses, trainees and graduates alike, used to litter the grounds in a messy spider web of safety. Civilians, like the two were at the time, were allowed to see friends and family during free hours. To Ren and Nora, Haven Academy at that time was what made them decide to become the Hunter and Huntress they were training to be (even if they ended up going to a different Academy in the end).

But as they and Ruby, Jaune, and Qrow stepped through the front gate at the top of the stairs, all they felt was a cold loneliness, and a chill in the base of their spine. Not a soul was in sight — no students, no faculty, not even a guard was anywhere to be seen. Thankfully, Ren noticed, the school didn't look like it had been abandoned, at least not very long ago; the gate swung open fairly quietly, signifying that it hadn't rusted. In addition, nothing on the grounds had begun gathering dust yet, and there were no signs of fighting except for the occasional dents in the ground where spars had taken place; regardless of when the student body left, it was clearly done quietly and voluntarily, and quite recent as well.

Qrow was under the same line of thought, though he didn't remain as calm as the stoic storm. Before he could show his panic, though, Summer flew in from the school. A frown was clearly seen, but it held a tone that spoke of a lack of surprise.

_He has the Seer under lock and key, and he's hid all forms of communication with Arthur Watts save for a device on his desk. It looks like the same thing Beacon's faculty used to announce things through the speakers. No matter what though, he's anticipating your arrival. I'm not sure if he has any visual of this area, but I'm pretty certain he isn't listening in; as long as I've been spying on him, Arthur's always been complaining about the lack of audio surveillance in most of the school save that office._

"He'll be listening in on the meeting, though? Just great...what's the status on the lack of students?" Qrow asked. The four children looked at Qrow attentively, knowing he was talking with Summer.

_Looks like he sent the trainees on an early 'Summer Break' of sorts,_ Summer answered, her frown dismissing any up-and-coming puns._ Lionheart used the guise that they were being sent to clear the Grimm around Mistral, with the upper years getting experience in leadership and the lower years getting fighting experience, but it's clear that he sent them away with other reasons in mind._

"Think something's going to happen at the school he doesn't want the children here for?" Qrow asked further.

"Oh no, you're not saying," Ruby gasped, "you don't think he's going to blow up the school?"

"I'd say this is Leo we're talking about, but with _her_ ilk in the mix…" Qrow brought a hand up to his eyes, suddenly tired. "Don't excuse the possibility. Sum, can you do some further recon while we get to Leo's office?"

_Where to?_

"Do a check on the school armory and its inventory, and the school's exit points. And check any hiding places where people can fit in, but also places where surveillance can be placed at."

"Are we bugging the school?" Jaune asked.

"I wish," Qrow said, "but no. We don't have the funds or manpower to get that kind of work done, especially in a way that Leo wouldn't notice. No, I asked because if we're forced in a situation where we have to defend the place from invasion, we need a place to safely get more ammo and weapons."

Ruby grumbled under her breath, which didn't go unnoticed by Qrow. He raised his eyebrow, but relented knowing about her love for — and over-reliance on — Crescent Rose. He knew she was happy about the thought of getting free ammo, but expecting her to use another weapon than Crescent Rose was equal to asking her to go on a cookie-free diet.

"What about the cafeteria?" Nora inserted. "Ugh, you know what I mean," she complained as the rest of the group looked at her, with Jaune deadpanning. "You said it yourself, if we're forced to defend the place then wouldn't we need a place to get more ammo? Well, what about our body's ammo, as in food?"

"Nora's right," said Ren, "in a situation where we might have to defend Haven Academy — and then Mistral itself, if it comes to it — having plenty of food and water in store is a must. If we end up possibly stuck here for months on end, we can't afford to starve. And even if we don't end up defending the school, having our own access to "free" food and clean water is something we may have to think about."

"You're not saying we're going to _steal_ food from Haven, are you?" Ruby asked awkwardly.

"You don't see anyone else here to use it, do you pipsqueak?"

"W-Well no...I'm just not really prepared to steal food from a _school_, you know?"

"I know Rubes, I know. But sometimes, being a Hunter means you have to do or prepare for things that you don't want to. I hoped you'd have to never know what I mean, but with the path we're going on you're going to have to learn sooner or later."

_So is that a yes on the cafeteria as well?_

"Yep, Sum. Good advice, Nora."

"Aw, shucks…" Nora blushed from Qrow's praise.

_Alright, then I'm going ahead now. I'll need a couple hours to get the inventories and passageways memorized, so if we want this done by tonight I'll have to start soon. Just in case, I'll scout ahead until you get to his office, but after that you're on your own for a little bit. If you end up getting compromised, sound the school alarm and I'll come running...hovering. Y'know._

"Sounds good. You prepared for this, kids?"

The four looked at each other with a shared grimace on their faces, as though they were going to be sick. Jaune was the first to look back at Qrow. "As ready as we'll ever be," he replied, "let's just get this over with."

They all brought their eyes to the school's front doors. Steeling themselves, they took the first real step into enemy territory, hoping everything would be alright.

* * *

"Never thought I'd see the day Haven Academy of all places became a ghost town," Qrow muttered, looking through another room, "Really drives this all home."

"Even the Teacher's Lounge is empty," Nora said, motioning the group over to her. Sure enough, the room was devoid of life. In a corner of the room, a coffee machine was on — and warm, as Ren walked over to it. He lifted the jar of coffee to his nose and sniffed it.

"It's...fresh," he said, "it wasn't just put on, it smells like it's been on for a few hours. But it definitely smells like it was brewed today."

"So it's not abandoned," Jaune declared, "or if it is, it was done today."

"Or someone could still be here," Ruby said. She twiddled her fingers nervously, "we're here to see the Headmaster, so he could have put it on for himself."

"...Maybe," Qrow commented, "or maybe not." _Maybe someone other than him put it on...someone he's currently "serving"._ Whether or not the kids thought similarly, or if he was even right, he didn't know; but he knew that they couldn't afford to stick around here. "Come on, we're almost to his office."

"Uncle Qrow…" Ruby muttered nervously, looking downcast. One of her hands was gripped on Crescent Rose, the knuckles of which were white. She shook her head and looked up at his eyes. "Never mind. Let's go, guys."

"Ruby." Qrow put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from walking out. He smiled reassuringly and gripped her shoulder comfortingly. "You'll do fine. Relax."

Ruby exhaled loudly, perhaps holding in a breath she didn't know she held in. She smiled up at Qrow, slightly more relaxed. Releasing her hold on her weapon, she walked out of the room with the others in tow.

As they made it to the hallway that led to the Headmaster's office, Summer appeared before Qrow. She had a nervous, yet reassuring smile, which Qrow reflected.

_Looks like he's been pacing behind the doors ever since you all got up the front steps. I think he's half-expecting you to kick the door down...I'm all for _cutting_ it and _him_ down, but he's technically still the Headmaster, so..._

Qrow couldn't help but roll his eyes and crack a small smile at her jab at Lionheart. "Good luck with the rest of the place, Sum. We're counting on you."

_Flattery will get you everywhere, love,_ she teased him huskily, making him blush. Maybe it was because she was a ghost, or perhaps because she knew Ruby couldn't hear her, as she seemed to have no problem with flirting with Qrow in front of her daughter.

Laughing at his embarrassment, she continued. _Being serious here, stay alert and keep the children safe. I might have been spying on him for a long time, but there's still a lot we don't know behind the scenes. And we — you and the kids at least — are still liable to make mistakes; it's not that I don't have faith in you guys, but you know as well as I do that the best-laid plans never turn out right. Just...keep her safe, please._

"You know I will. Now go on, let's get this done." She nodded and flew off in the direction they came from fairly quickly. Turning back to the Headmaster's office after he watched her vanish through a wall, he motioned for Team RNJR to follow behind him. He lifted Harbinger from his back, wielding it in its sword form, and made a motion to kick the doors open. The doors opened on their own, however, revealing the Headmaster himself wearing a wide-eyed look of great shock — whether the shock was genuine or not (considering he nearly had his chest caved in by an aura-fortified boot) was something they'd probably never know.

Qrow put his leg back down, dissipating the aura around his heel. "Nice welcome party you have going on here, Leo, I almost missed the giant cake in the middle of the courtyard."

"Cake...?" Lionheart echoed, though he glared at Qrow after noticing the sarcasm bleeding through. "Oh, very funny. I admit, though, that if we had any cause for celebration right now that there would be plenty of it to go around. What I wish to know, though, is _why_ you decided to try kicking down my door!"

"Yeah, lemme just get someone to write the whole explanation down — oh wait, there's no one else here. Care to explain that? Or why you weren't waiting for us in the courtyard?"

"I was. Quite a long time, in fact. I didn't see much reason in continuing to wait after standing there for an entire hour."

"Oh...uh, sorry," Qrow said semi-sheepishly. He chose not to care if Lionheart was telling the truth or not. "But that doesn't answer my first question."

Leonardo seemed to choose that moment to notice Team RNJR standing behind Qrow. "Ah," he said, "you must be the students Qrow mentioned."

"Um...right," Jaune said. "Jaune Arc."

"Nora Valkyrie," Nora followed. Her face, as well as those of the others, were devoid of much positive emotion at the moment.

"Lie Ren."

"R-Ruby Rose...uh, sir?"

"Yes, Ms. Rose?" the Headmaster replied.

"I'm curious about the missing students, too. Shouldn't there be people here to guard the school from Grimm?"

"Ah, well...I'm afraid most of my staff is currently away until classes resume, but–"

"Excuse me?!" Qrow growled. "The _staff_ is gone? Leo, who's guarding the Relic?!"

Leo paused, looking awkwardly at Team RNJR. "Q-Qrow, the children–!"

"Already know, I filled them in," Qrow interrupted, "Leo, you can't be serious. Why aren't they here guarding the Relic?"

"You...filled them in?" The Headmaster glanced to the right, stroking his beard.

"The world's falling head-first into war, Leo. We all need to stick together, even if some of us haven't graduated from the Academy that was _destroyed_ by our _enemy_. Now, stop avoiding my question...where. Is. The. Staff?"

Lionheart sighed. "Very well. Let us sit around the table, then." At the Headmaster's beckoning, the five walked up to the table at the back of the roomy, circular room. None of them immediately took a seat, though Ruby and Jaune somewhat relaxed their stance after seeing Ren and Nora sit on a couch with each other. "You know," he said after he sat down, "telling them about the Relic was quite reckless, even for you. I was under the impression that Ozpin wanted sensitive information kept _secret_, not given to random trainees...no offense to you four."

"Don't-! Don't...bring Oz into this," Qrow seethed, "Don't tell me about information being kept secret, when you haven't... _hadn't_ checked in with Oz for ages! And speaking of reckless, you hypocrite, why are you leaving one of the Relics _completely unguarded?_ That takes a certain level of stupidity, _even for you._"

"You-! You come into my office and insult me, after I graciously gave you a place to recuperate? Ozpin or no Ozpin, you're going a bit-!"

"Hey, hey," Jaune interrupted, holding his arms out at the two as though it would keep them separated, "We're all a bit stressed out right now. Qrow, this isn't helping. Headmaster Lionheart, we're sorry for any negativity we're giving you right now...but we need to know.

"He," he continued, looking down with a depressed look on his face as he lowered his arms, "Ozpin died fighting against Cinder Fall, trying to protect Pyrrha and me. I don't know if you know or not, but Cinder is the Fall Maiden, and she killed the last one right in front of us. And...she killed Pyrrha too. And if we know her type as well as anyone, we know she's going to come here and do the same, destroying the school in the process. In fact she'll do it for the hell of it. So please...we need to know. About where the staff's gone, yes, but also about other things."

Leonardo sighed. "Fine," he said, "I agree, things as they are don't leave much room for niceties, and losing Ozpin was too serious a blow for us. While I have faith in you, Qrow, I'm somewhat surprised I'm not dead yet with what you've likely been going through. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. But please, try not to take your frustrations out on me, I'm stretched thin enough as it is.

"And yes, Qrow," he elaborated, "I realize my staff isn't here to defend the Relic. As loathe as I am to admit it at this... precarious time, they have their own duties and priorities outside the school. As for the Relic, adequate defenses have been set up...adequate enough at least, for the time being."

"For the time being?" Qrow asked. There was still a hint of anger in his voice, but he seemed to calm some.

"Yes. I know you're not stupid, Qrow. With the chaos from the loss of Beacon, Mistral's been in chaos. Vale wasn't the only kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching...every house in _every_ kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces...saw monsters crawling all over the city, the Atlesian Knights _attacking_ citizens! And then nothing. You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity, you could imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us."

"That's...true," Ruby said. "When Penny...when she died, you could almost feel the negativity covering you like honey. And when the Nevermore broke through the stadium's shield, everything...everyone was panicking. The only ones who weren't climbing over everyone else to get to safety were us Hunters and Huntresses, and…"

"Rubes, you don't need-" Qrow interrupted.

"We knew, I think," Jaune resumed for her. It seemed to be too much for Ruby as she walked to Jaune and cried in his chest. He put an arm across her back as he continued, "when people started running for the exits, and the hordes of Nevermores flew over Amity Arena like a plague, I think we all knew that Beacon wasn't going to survive the night. They...gods, Leo, they fucking _planned_ all of it from the start. Right under our noses, and we...we didn't see it coming."

"Maybe we didn't _want_ to see it coming," Ren spoke, silently pulling Nora close. "No one really expects something to happen that they don't want coming true, do they? We learned things and sparred with each other to become capable of fighting against the darkness, not realizing...not _wanting_ to realize that there were people already lost in darkness, plotting against the light trying to save them."

"And for what?" This time it was Nora who spoke up, growling in a darker tone unlike her normal, bubbly tone, "What do they get out of it? Do people like Cinder get off on killing others? Did Emerald put Yang and Pyrrha in those illusions because she's a sadist? Did Mercury fake getting injured because he's a rotten pile of filth? I mean, _yes_ to all three, but the point is why do they try to help the Grimm kill off humankind?"

"'Cause they're sick in the head, Nora," Jaune said, "because they're a bunch of rat bastards who lost something and lost all faith in the world, so they run with their tails between their legs and...what, get revenge against the world? What kind of cliche story writing is that? I've seen the fanfics Ruby tries to write, and she can't come up with worse crap than the bull we've seen."

"Stop," Ruby laughed, her voice muffled by Jaune's armor.

"Please, Headmaster," Jaune got back on track, everyone focusing their gazes to Lionheart, "we don't want another Beacon to happen to Haven. Tell us what we need to do, what needs to be done, to prevent those _slimeballs_, those _piles of filth_ from taking another Academy from us."

Leonardo looked like he'd been driven speechless, with his eyes shaking like he wanted to say something but couldn't. He slumped slightly in his chair, as though their words weighed down on him.

_Did… _Qrow thought, gawking at Team RNJR,_ did they just take control of the conversation?_

"I wish I could be the one to give those answers to you, Mr. Arc," Leo spoke. His voice sounded depressed, the happiness sucked out of it by thoughts the children dug up, "but there's not much you _can_ do. The Mistral Council is at odds with the representatives from Atlas; I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale, but it seems to have worsened some of his more...unfortunate tendencies. First the Dust Embargo, then the closing of borders...it's only worsened since that night, and it won't get better. We don't...well, I assume you've told them about the Spring Maiden, yes?" The question was aimed at Qrow, who nodded, "We still have no idea where she is, which is a partial reason the staff is out."

"Why is the Spring Maiden important?" Ren asked.

Lionheart blinked, staring at Qrow again, "I thought you filled them in."

"Mostly. Never knew who was listening out in Mistral's wilderness, and there was a lot to cover. I quit teaching for a reason, as you know."

The Headmaster sighed again, resting his head against his arm as he leaned on the table. "The Four Maidens each have the power to perform feats of magic, and _they_ are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics."

"You're kidding," Jaune spat out.

"The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific Maiden," Qrow continued. "Winter for the gift of Creation, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice, and Spring for Knowledge. Spring...is the problem."

"What happened to her?" Ren asked.

"She was...determined at first when she inherited her powers," Leo said, "but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child...she ran. Abandoned her training, abandoned everyone. That was over a decade ago...there's no telling where she could be now."

"I know...or at least, I have a pretty good idea where she is."

Lionheart's eyes shot open like adrenaline pumped through his system. He stood up, practically leaning over his table in Qrow's direction. "Are you serious?"

"It's not exactly good news-"

"What are you talking about, this is incredible news! After all these years? Where?!" The feline faunus leapt from his chair to Qrow, shaking his shoulders like he was desperate for Qrow's answer.

Qrow pushed his hands away, facing away from Lionheart and at the table. He was happy with the kids for what they did, but now it was his turn to lead the conversation. "I did some digging around. Turns out that when Spring ran off, she was picked up by bandits. Specifically, the Branwen Tribe."

Leonardo's eyes grew downcast. "Raven."

"Yang's mom…" Jaune muttered, Qrow nodding in confirmation. Qrow then reached into his pocket, throwing his Scroll on the table after having it display a holographic map of Remnant. The Scroll brought up a map that zoomed in around Mistral, which displayed a collection of dots resembling a forested area.

"That's about where they set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. She's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe, and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up it only made things easier for them. There's no telling what she can do with the Maiden probably at her beck and call."

"Well, I've got to hand it to you Qrow," Leo said, "with these coordinates we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks. And yes, Qrow," he said, noticing Qrow's flabbergasted expression, "I meant a few weeks. A couple at best, if everything goes right. As I said, the Kingdom is in shambles and the Council is even worse off. I'm afraid bandit tribes aren't very high on their list of priorities when the threat of war is on the horizon, no matter what either of us wants."

"Would it be possible to do it ourselves?" Ren asked. "Just sneak in and get the Spring Maiden?"

"Out of the question, Mr. Ren," Lionheart said. "While you, Qrow, are evenly matched with your sister, I'm...not the fighter I used to be. While _you_ might be able to fight Raven by yourself, we – these kids and I – can't be expected to fight an entire bandit tribe _and_ a Maiden that no doubt has had years to hone her skills by ourselves. Again, no offense to you four, but even if you were graduates I couldn't trust you to have my back against those odds. Especially when we only get _one_ shot at this, with no mistakes; because if we don't apprehend Spring, Raven and her tribe will scatter and will be lost to us again."

Qrow groaned, but he nodded. "Oz wouldn't be happy with any of this if he were here."

"But he's not," Lionheart replied, "and I'm doing the very best I can with what I have."

"And what about Cinder?" Jaune asked. "She and her lackeys came from Haven, do you have anything on their files we can work with?"

"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon. They were nothing but lies and forgeries."

"What about the White Fang," Ruby pressed, trying to ignore the tightening of Jaune's muscles around her, "is there anything that can help us find out how they got into Beacon?"

"You would be asking the wrong person, Ms. Rose, but I assure you that they will not be getting into Haven. You have my word."

The room fell into silence for a moment. It was when Qrow stood up and took his Scroll back from the table that the silence was broken.

"We'll stay in the city for the time being. Local comms are still up, so keep in touch." With that, he walked out of the office, with Team RNJR following. As Ruby went to do the same, she looked back at the Headmaster. She paused like she wanted to say something, but then dipped her head and walked out of the room, not looking back at the man who had no idea what he was in for.

* * *

"That was an experience," Ren spoke up as they exited the school and walked outside. They had kept silent walking out of Haven Academy, thinking about the conversation they had with the Headmaster.

"You're telling me," Qrow replied, "what was that back there? Did you guys rehearse that during your little shopping trip? That was the smoothest insulting I've seen since Summer and Raven teamed up on Peter back in our first year."

"Speaking of Summer, it doesn't look like she's done yet," said Jaune in a low voice, "she said she'd be done by tonight, right?"

"Honestly, she's probably done by now," Qrow answered him, "Ruby inherited three things from her mom: her love of sweets, her firecracker spirit, and-"

_The speed and efficiency at which she gets things done,_ Summer said, appearing from the school through a wall.

"Exactly," Qrow said.

"Uh...Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah, pipsqueak?"

"What was the last thing? You didn't say anything."

"Oh, is there supposed to be a joke here?" Nora inserted, before comedically whispering in Ruby's ear, "I bet you 10 Lien she just came from the school and finished his sentence."

"Oh, right," Qrow said sheepishly, "I forgot you can't hear her. She said 'the speed at which she gets things done'."

_Don't forget efficiency, love. Speaking of, it's all done. _Efficiently,_ I might add. I'll relay the info to you tomorrow._

"Why not now?" Qrow asked.

_Because there's a 100% chance you're going to go to the nearest bar and get piss drunk, blissfully not remember a single thing I told you, and have me repeat myself. I love you, but I know you._

"Fair enough. 'Kay kids, I'll go do as Ghost Mom says and get 'piss drunk and not remember a single thing'. You kids go back to the house and get everything situated and...we'll talk about what happened tomorrow."

"_Gods dammit, Qrow,_" Ruby and Summer said together. Summer shook her head in exasperation as she mimed kicking Qrow in the head, before she hovered behind the man who proceeded to walk to the gate and down the stairs.

"He's having too much fun with this," Ren spoke with a twinkle in his eye, "if we didn't know better, you would've thought he was throwing an elaborate prank."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking~?" Nora said, the same shine in her eye as Ren's. The two looked at Jaune and Ruby, the two of whom looked at each other before the same mischievous twinkle sparkled in their eyes. Before long, the four walked down the stairs, trading several ideas on how to pull off the greatest prank on Drunkle Qrow.

* * *

Some hours later, Qrow was sitting at a bar somewhere in the city. He was sitting alone, at least physically; the bar closed a while ago, but a healthy tip in the form of Lien earned Qrow some quality time with his alcohol and ethereal team leader.

_This is...what, your seventh glass already? Do you even have a liver anymore?_

"This is nothin'," he slurred before hiccuping.

_Nothing's when you're a semi-functioning member of society. You can barely see straight enough to spot the mug shoved in your mouth._

"Says you. I can see it _just_ fine."

_Yeah, if you stare at the booze inside...for what it's worth, I'm sorry Qrow._

"Nope, a little insult never hurt any one."

_I'm talking about Lionheart, birdbrain._

It seemed to take Qrow a couple seconds to process what she said, before he frowned into his glass. "Oh."

_For the longest time I've wanted to be wrong about him. I came back here so much because I wanted to prove myself wrong – that when I went through his office, I'd see nothing out of the ordinary. No hidden Grimm, no Arthur Watts...um, I'll tell you more about that when you're sober, but he's there now...but dammit, Qrow. I never wanted any of this to happen. I can't help but blame myself for all of this...if I'd been alive, then Ruby and Yang would've had healthy lives, Leonardo wouldn't have fell to Salem's machinations..._

"You can't blame yourself, Sum," Qrow interrupted her. While he didn't become sober by any means, her choice of conversation seemed to halt his drinking and focus his attention on her, with his glass forgotten.

_Why, Fi? What right did I have to return to you, to _Ruby,_ when I abandoned you all?_

"Summer, you _died._ How was that abandoning us?"

_Because without me, Team STRQ fell apart. Especially with Tai trying to commit suicide more times than even you were there for...did you know he tried killing himself when you were off doing jobs for Oz, and Yang — little six-year-old Yang — talked him out of it?_

"I...what? They never told me...they must've kept it a secret. Are you telling me Yang kept that a secret all this time? Did Ruby know?"

_She did, though I'm not sure she understood what it meant. I think that was the starting point of her growing more distant from Tai._

"If I wasn't already drunk off my ass, I'd say I need another drink...Ruby never said anything about hating Tai!"

_She doesn't hate him, but I don't think she looks up to him anymore. I might even go so far as to say she doesn't consider him her father._

"Why? I mean, he got way better, and he's put everything into loving Ruby and Yang."

_Because I died, Qrow. Because I think Ruby's been repressing too many traumatic memories throughout her childhood, and that's what made her such a social outcast. Did you know...Ruby never wanted to be a Huntress at first? She hated the idea with a passion, she always talked with herself about how she'd never become a Huntress, and that she'd become a ballerina instead._

"She never said anything about it, but I remember she had a pretty intense look on her face whenever she listened to that girl singing on the radio."

_It's pretty funny in a way. I don't think you remember her name, but the girl who sang on the radio was the same girl who became her teammate at Beacon. Weiss Schnee had the life others would kill to have, yet she chose to become a Huntress...and Ruby had an unnaturally powerful gift with gymnastics and the drive she needed to become a dancer, yet she chose to become a Huntress in the end. Do you know why?_

"She...well, I guess she's never told any of us much of anything now that I think about it. Gods, I can only assume at this point but I'll let you tell me."

_Because she felt Weiss' voice. She felt the sadness and anger in Weiss' singing, which was probably due to the poor girl's home life, and it haunted Ruby in her dreams. She ended up having these dreams for a couple weeks before Yang found out, and they ended up having a talk that eventually resulted in Ruby wanting to become a Huntress...not to slay the creatures of Grimm, but to protect that voice and make it happy again._

"...Wow. That's...wow."

_That's why I feel like I abandoned you all. Ruby and Tai are not the only ones who've been going through this pain...the lives of everyone I touched when I was alive, all of them had been ruined in some way. Peter, Bart, Willow, Glynda, Oz, and so many more people that you don't know I knew...all of them, all of you have lost so much from me dying...I could've taken more stock in my life, contacted Oz and stalled Salem until he got there. Instead I left my baby girl on the side of a cliff and abandoned her like I did all of you._

"Summer, shut up," Qrow said. To her credit, she wasn't surprised at his outburst. Rather, she seemed to expect it, making no moves to continue as he berated her. "Dammit, Sum, none of this was your fault and you know it. You could've lived, yeah. But no one's perfect, no one knows what the future will bring. Summer, you were trapped between a rock and a hard place, and do you know what you did? You didn't run, and you especially didn't beg Salem for your life or become one of her flunkies like Leo; you greeted death with your head held high, and you protected Ruby. You protected _us._

"You wanna know something, Sum? I went into depression after you died. Became an alcoholic like you see here. I killed people Oz wanted me to kill because it helped dull the pain of losing you, losing what we could've had. But you really wanna know something? If I was in the same situation you were in, you know what I'd do — even knowing what I do now? I'd do exactly what you did and protect all of you. This isn't my self-pity or drunkenness talking; this is me as Qrow Branwen, member of Team STRQ, talking. I'd die, even knowing you'd suffer without me, because that's what we do. That's what Hunters and Huntresses _do._

"It hurts. Gods dammit, it _hurts_ Sum…" he paused as a tear fell from his eye into his glass, unnoticed by either of them, "it hurts so much not having you here in the living, and it hurts even more knowing we could've been together...but you gave yourself to protect us. You did your damn duty, and...you should be proud of that."

_Qrow..._

"So...that's that. I dragged on for too long."

_No Qrow, you're right. I need to stop my own self-pity and continue to help you protect our girls and their friends...you helped convince me of that, so...thank you. This really helped – hold on, do you hear that?_

Qrow's body stiffened as he focused on listening for what Summer interrupted herself for. He heard footsteps slowly nearing the bar, and as he looked back at the opening door he saw a child walking in. Tanned skin and dark hair, the kid looked around the same age as Ruby before she started Beacon. Though he was fidgeting a lot, it looked less like he was doing so less out of a lack of maturity and more because he was nervous. And while he did have that look of discomfort, he also stared Qrow in the eyes, keeping eye contact despite his apparent discomfort. In Qrow's peripheral vision, he saw Summer eyeing the kid with a mixture of suspicion and amusement.

"You know," Qrow said, surprising himself with how clear his voice sounded, "I don't think they allow kids in here, pipsqueak."

The boy didn't look all that surprised at being called young, to Qrow's own amusement. What threw him for a loop, however, was that instead of replying to him he instead seemed to argue with himself.

"Shut up, I'm getting there," the boy said. As Qrow's eyes widened in disbelief at the potential of what was happening in front of him, Summer voiced the thought in his own head.

_You're not fucking serious..._

"Um," the child continued, his eyes now leaving Qrow's own as he fidgeted more, "I'm supposed to tell you I'd...like my cane back?"

_You're fucking serious. Oz reincarnated. Into a small, adorable teenager of all things. Qrow, you're not letting him live this down._

Qrow chuckled, knowing she'd make sure that statement rang true. As he reached behind his back for the cane, Summer sighed.

_I'm just...gonna let you two get reacquainted. I'll see you back at the house._

As Summer disappeared through the wall, Qrow threw the cane to the kid. As he thought, the cane extended as the boy gripped it tenderly. Qrow smirked, knowing that with _him_ here, good things would come. "It's good to see you again, Oz."


	7. Chapter 6 - A Welcome Surprise

**Hello again, readers! Sorry for the long wait this time, but welcome to another chapter of MotSS! Unfortunately, I've been very busy and haven't been able to write as frequently as I want to. I also got stuck at a few points while writing this, which didn't help things. I'm still working as much as I can on it, though, and have no plans in abandoning it, so don't to worry about that.  
****So...last chapter we had a lot of verbatim quoting, albeit switched around and occasionally modified. There wasn't much I could do about that without changing Lionheart's character a lot, and Watts did mention that he needed to "work on (his) improvisational skills". I felt that it was likely Leo rehearsed what he would say, or at least what topics he wanted brought up, so changing that around felt...awkward to say the least. That's the reason why it was like that last chapter, and you'll be happy to know it'll be happening quite a bit less in this one.  
****This will be the first chapter where you start to see the characters' personalities differ between this story and canon. I hope you like how it was written.  
****Other than that, I hope you enjoy the newest chapter, and I'll see you later! Until the next chapter~**

~Chapter 6~

"Ruby, what have I said about putting copious amounts of sugar in beef stew?"

This question was directed from Ren to Ruby, the latter of which stood in front of the stove in the kitchen of the apartment Team RNJR and Qrow were staying in. She was currently holding a large bag of white sugar over a pot of beef stew, with Ren standing off to the side glaring at her.

"That it's amazing and makes it taste delicious?"

"Ruby, we're trying to make beef stew, not beef _marmalade_. And we're also trying to _not_ make Nora destroy the place. Please don't?"

"_Oh Ren~!_" Nora's voice called from upstairs. Her head appeared less than a second later, her eyes scanning the room until they found their target. "I might need a little help um...purging the place of all these 'bugs', since Qrow isn't here to help like he said he was going to."

"C-Coming!" Ren replied. He walked to the base of the stairs, gave Ruby one last glare as though to dare her to defy him, and followed Nora up the stairs.

"Have fun "purging" the place," Ruby muttered, before turning back to the stew. She looked at the bag of sugar, then looked back to see if Ren was watching her. Satisfied at finding herself unwatched, she sucked on one of her fingers and grabbed the bag, dipping it in the sugar before putting her sugar-coated finger in her mouth. She hummed happily as she stirred the beef stew, and before long the temptation to put the sugar in the stew was too much. Before she could lift up the bag, though, a pair of arms gently reached around her in a hug. She looked over her shoulder, seeing Jaune looking at her.

"U-Uh…" Ruby stuttered, not expecting to be in such a circumstance.

"Oh, sorry, I'll just-" Jaune said.

"No! N-No, you're fine. Very, _very _fine...um, j-just stay like that…"

The two fell into something of an awkward silence, standing over the stove as they watched it simmer. Before long, however, Jaune spoke up, with his arms still around her.

"I thought I was gonna screw everything up today."

"Huh?"

"When we met the Headmaster. I thought I was gonna end up letting everything slip when I spoke up after you. I just wanted him to feel guilty about betraying us without letting him know we knew. I'm just thanking the gods Ren and Nora cut in too."

"Hehe, we were all pretty in-sync, weren't we?"

"Yeah, we were…"

The room went silent again, though the next one who spoke was Ruby. She turned off the stovetop and turned around, still in Jaune's arms.

"I'm sorry about crying on you today."

"Why?"

"Because I just...being reminded of that night really hurt. I was the one who brought it up, but I just couldn't...Penny and P-Pyrrha…I could've saved them..."

"Ruby, stop."

"Why, Jaune? W-What gives me the right to stand here – in your arms, no less – when I could've saved Pyrrha? What's my problem?!"

"What do you mean, 'what's your problem'? What does that have to do with Pyrrha?"

"My 'problem' is that for all my Semblance speeds me up, I'm never where I need to be when I need to be there. Maybe...maybe it's not my semblance, is it? Maybe I'm just not cut out for-"

"Don't. Don't you _dare_ say you're not cut out to be a Huntress."

"Why not? Here I am, poor little innocent Ruby, working so hard to be a great big Huntress when I can't even save the ones that mean the most to me! I really _wasn't _cut out for this, was I? Huh?!"

"You were. You _are_, Ruby. You wanna know why?" He pointed to her chest.

"What, this?" She must have misunderstood Jaune, because she lifted the rose-shaped clasp keeping her red cloak on her back. "Yeah, great deal living up to my mom's name...I can't even hear her name most of the time without breaking down. Woo, great night to be a 16-year-old girl that throws a hissy-fit every time mommy's name comes up in conversation."

"No, Crater Face, that's not what I meant and you know it." She glared at him for bringing up her forbidden nickname, but he continued undeterred. "I meant this, Ruby, your _heart_. Your love for saving people, the fact you were able to bring everyone together like you did. Not just us into Team JNRR-"

"Team RNJR, Jaune. It was a majority vote from the start."

"-but also everyone back at Beacon," Jaune continued on, as though he hadn't heard her. This didn't go unnoticed by her, but it was let go as he continued further, "like how Weiss was always so...cold. Blake was antisocial to a fault. Yang did her own thing and didn't care about the consequences. Yet you brought them all together and made a hell of a team, Ruby!"

"I swear to the Brothers, Jaune, if you're going to keep punning I'm gonna duct tape you to the wall." This was said with humorous giggles behind it, making Jaune smile.

"But see, Ruby? That's why you're made out to be a Huntress! I mean, you've got your awesome sniper-scythe and everything that goes with it too, but you did everything you did with your team _and_ us because you cared. You still care, don't you?"

"Of course I care! I have nightmares every night because I care!"

"Then treat yourself better, dammit, and stop beating yourself up over stuff you couldn't help!" Jaune yelled up closely to her face, holding her shoulders now instead of hugging her. "You think I don't think the same things about myself? You think that I don't regret not being there beside Pyrrha, that maybe if I wasn't useless, somehow I might've been able to at least give her an _opening?_ I miss her every day, I think about her so much that I _know_ it's driving me apart from everyone. But that's not going to bring her back, and it's not going to do anything to take Cinder down.

"Gods, Ruby...you're amazing. That's, like, a huge understatement, you're _super_ amazing. You cut down any Grimm in your way, you save everyone you _can_ save, and you do it with a smile on your face and brighten everyone's day. You light the way for the rest of us to follow you, Ruby. You're the only one that could've gotten the three of us to make the trek to Mistral, after all."

"Stupid Jaune," Ruby muttered. She looked Jaune in the eyes before calming down, her shoulders losing their tension in Jaune's grip. "Dammit, I know. I just really miss them...gods I sound like such a kid right now."

"There's nothing childish about wanting everything back the way it used to be."

"No, but...letting it rule your life is. Maybe you're right, Jaune. I think I just need to treat myself better and keep moving forward...so I don't let what happened happen again."

"You _think?_"

"You know what I mean, _Vomit Boy_. See, how do you like it!"

With Ruby's teasing, they fell into a fit of laughter. Still standing at the stove, it was all Ruby could do to keep herself upright as she leaned on Jaune's chest plate. As the two continued to lose themselves in their laughter, they failed to notice Ren and Nora looking down at them from the top of the stairs.

Nora silently moaned. "Ugh, the sexual tension is too much...why can't they just kiss already?"

"Probably because they still need to come to terms with what happened at Beacon," Ren muttered, "not that I blame them. If that happened to you, or if I left you alone instead–"

"Nuh-uh," Nora interrupted, pressing a finger to Ren's lips, "none of that. We're here, and that's all that matters."

"...How did we not get together before now?"

"Silly, we've _always_ been together. Just not _together-together._ But we were kids, and kids are idiots. Like that oblivious pair down there."

"It almost looks like Ruby is less oblivious about her feelings than Jaune is," Ren said, "though this is Jaune we're talking about."

"Yeah, our Fearless Leader's always been a bit slow on the uptake...should we give him a little push?"

"Not at this moment, but...what Ruby's uncle said gave us the push _we_ needed, so if nothing progresses then I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"Jaune-Jaune's too stubborn to stop hurting himself over Pyrrha, but maybe Ruby's what he needs to finally move on."

"We'll help him through it, Nora. He's family, and we've always protected family."

"...Gods, I love you Ren," she said before giggling. "Wow, it feels really good to finally be able to say that."

"Better than 'booping' me, you mean?"

Nora stared at him in surprise. "Y-You knew?"

"I think, looking back, that it was pretty obvious. I was so lost in my _own_ angst and grief back then that I just thought you were trying to cheer me up, but with everything that's happened between us I realized that even back then, you were waiting for me to say something."

"And boy am I glad you did. Any longer and I was gonna kiss you myself, you big doofus!"

"I wouldn't be repulsed by the idea of...well, continuing where we left off. I-If you still want to-"

"Ren," she said after she put a finger on his lips, "shut up and kiss me already."

* * *

Before they could start doing so, however, a knock was heard from the front door. Both pairs of Hunters and Huntresses scrambled for their weapons as another knock sounded. On the lower floor, Jaune stepped toward the door with his shield raised, clearly peeved at being interrupted from his time talking to Ruby.

"Come in," he yelled. As the door opened, they saw a teenage boy standing outside who was clearly uncomfortable doing so. Behind him was Qrow, who while clearly intoxicated was far less so than they thought he would be.

"Well, go on kid, make yourself at home." Qrow told the boy.

"What?" Ruby asked. "Not that I have a problem with us helping people, but why does that sound like you're having a stranger live here with us?"

Her uncle laughed. "Oh, you'll see in a sec. C'mon, let's get out of the dark." With that, he dragged the boy inside and closed the door behind them.

The first thing the boy did after he set foot inside was stare at Ruby. "You...have silver eyes…."

"Heh, of course that's the first thing you say to her," muttered Qrow, "so, let's get introductions done!"

"U-Um, I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby said.

"Jaune Arc."

"Lie Ren."

"Nora Valkyrie, and might I add that super suspicious as he is, he's also super _adorable!_ If you guys aren't keeping him, I am! Whatever his name is."

"Well, um, I'm Oscar Pine."

"Wait for it," Qrow said, having a huge smirk on his face.

"...But you probably know me as...Professor Ozpin?"

The silence in the house could not be any louder. The only thing that broke the silence was Jaune walking up to Oscar and pushing him against the door.

"Whoa, Jaune, what're you-" Qrow started, before Jaune glared at him into silence. Jaune looked back at Oscar, who clearly did not expect to be shoved against something like this.

"I'm not sure if Qrow told you, but we're not exactly in a situation where we can joke around about stuff like this. Either you tell us what you're actually here for, or you need to find another drunkard to mess around with."

"I'm not–!" Oscar tried.

"Jaune," Ruby interrupted, touching Jaune's shoulder behind him, "let him go and give him some room to talk. Please? You know we can't just throw people out, even if he seems a little suspicious."

"And how do you know he's not one of _hers_, Ruby? How do we know he's not like Tyrian, or one of Emerald's hallucinations?"

"I am not one of Salem's subordinates nor an illusion, Mr. Arc," spoke a deeper and slightly distorted voice from Oscar's mouth, clearly not natural from the boy. Indeed, his eyes now had a partially bright pulsing light to them, taking on a lighter brown hue than his normal dark hazel. The expression on the boy's face was also one of full confidence, off-putting when compared to the almost adorable shyness he previously expressed.

"And," he continued, shrugging himself away from Jaune (who was surprised enough from this plot twist that he backed away without a thought), "though I appreciate your level of dedication to your team, I must ask that you listen to what I have to say before you judge Oscar and myself too harshly."

"I-Is that really you, Professor Ozpin?" Ruby asked.

"For lack of a better term to use, Ms. Rose: yes, but actually no." He made his way to sit at a chair, and the others took it as a signal to find their own seats. "I, the one talking right now, am indeed the Professor Ozpin you know of. But the information of my death at the hands of Cinder Fall is...correct. Though, 'killed' seems to be somewhat inaccurate in my case."

"Are you a ghost possessing Oscar, then?" Ren offered.

"Not quite. He is still quite in control, I am merely...helping him along, so to speak. For example, you should be able to tell by the distortion in my — rather, _Oscar's_ voice that the voice speaking isn't his own, but is still mostly recognizable as his own voice."

"Well...this isn't the weirdest stuff we've seen lately," Jaune muttered, "I'm sorry I pushed you against the wall, but we've had a tough time making our way here to say the least."

"It is alright, Mr. Arc," Ozpin replied, "I am glad, though, that you all have not become completely jaded from your experiences. Ms. Valkyrie's sense of humor has always given me a laugh, and Ms. Rose's kindness is a breath of fresh air from the darkness in the world right now. And if I may be so bold to say, Mr. Ren's posture seems to be much lighter than I saw last. Am I to assume the two of you finally confessed to each other?" He pointed this question to both Ren and Nora, the both of whom blushed heavily.

"Are we really so obvious?" Nora asked meekly.

"Trust me when I say that I have seen many people changed by their relationships...for better or worse. Over time, it becomes easy to see when the dynamics between others change. Also, Ms. Valkyrie, you may want to take care to cover up that hickey on your neck if you wish to hide your relationship status from others."

Nora gasped, touching her neck. "Ren! I-I mean I don't _mind_ it, but why didn't you tell me?"

"Sorry, Nora," Ren replied, not acting at all sorry. Everyone else aside from Nora chuckled, with Nora herself embarrassed but touching her neck with a smile and gentle reverence.

"So you're really Professor Ozpin...what happens now, then?" Ruby said.

"For one, I feel it is time for me to...come clean. Ms. Rose, I told you once that I made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet...and I wasn't exaggerating. This…'possession' as you, and many friends of mine before you called it, is not something as simple as a Semblance, but rather a curse. For thousands of years, I have walked the surface of Remnant...living, dying, and reincarnating in the body of a like-minded soul.

"The Professor Ozpin you all met was not my first form," he continued with heavy sadness, "and clearly wasn't my last. It's an extraordinarily strenuous process on...everyone involved."

"First form?" Jaune asked. "Who...or what, exactly, are you then?"

"I am the combination of countless men who have spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remnant. With every rebirth my soul is eventually merged with another, and I am changed...though my memories stay with me."

"How did this happen, Professor?" asked Ren.

"That is...something I do not wish to disclose at this moment. Or rather, I cannot, for even I do not know exactly why I was cursed, or where my journey began. I can only assume that the gods had done this to task me with defeating Salem, and we have indeed clashed many a time with each other. Sometimes though use of armies, and others in a more...personal manner. Let it be said that those duels did not come out in my favor, or we would not be having this kind of discussion in such circumstances as these."

"What do you mean, with the use of armies?" wondered Nora. "You said you've effectively been living for thousands of years, but wouldn't that mean…"

"Yes, Ms. Valkyrie, I have led multitudes of people...soldiers, and at the worst of times even civilians, into battle against Salem's forces...as well as against each other, and most of the time they were auraless. And I have also led them to build again what they had lost, even when all had lost too much to do so, myself included."

"Build…" Jaune muttered, an inquisitive look on his face. "Professor?"

"Yes, Mr. Arc?" Ozpin inquired.

"When you said that you led armies against Salem, that implies that you had a sort of authority to do so."

"I...yes, it does. What are you getting at?"

"What you said...it clicks in my head like a crazy theory, but too much makes sense from what I've learned from my family. Were you, or were you not, the King of Vale in one of your previous incarnations?"

The room was deathly silent for a second time since Ozpin's arrival, and the former Headmaster found himself under scrutiny. "That is...not an easy question to answer."

"Sure it is," Jaune said, "just say yes or no. You owe your descendant that much, if I'm correct that is."

"Wait, your ancestor was the _King of Vale?_" Ruby yelled in surprise.

"Uh, yeah...I didn't tell you that?"

"Not that he was the King of Vale," Ren said, "you only said that he fought in the war, not that he _led_ it."

Ozpin sighed. "I...had not wished to tell you this now, but not doing so would only do more harm than good. Yes, Jaune...I was indeed the King of Vale in a previous incarnation. And though I had instructed my family to let my legend vanish over time, it seems that they had no problem passing it down to their own children instead."

"So that's why you let me stay in the Academy, even knowing about my forged transcripts–"

"I will stop you right there, Mr. Arc. I did _not_ base your continued tutelage at Beacon Academy because you were my descendant. If that were the case, I would have taken you in myself and disclosed that information to you a long time ago. No, Mr. Arc, your continued education was because of the potential I saw in you, the potential of what you _could be._ And if what Qrow says is correct, you have come along nicely. I just wish it wasn't at the cost it came to...and for that, I am dearly sorry."

"Please...don't bring that up right now, Professor," Jaune said tiredly. "You, um..._Oscar_, I mean, definitely didn't come from Mistral, so you must've traveled a long way. You must have a lot to tell us if you had to risk traveling in the open, what with Salem and her goons on the loose."

Ozpin laughed, his tone releasing some of the tension created from Jaune's interrogation. "Yes, I suppose 'goons' would be a good word to call them. And I do, so...right, let us get down to the business of why I am here. Qrow?"

"Right," Qrow responded from the kitchen. He came back with two cups of coffee in his hands, one of which he gave to Ozpin. Taking a sip, he prepared himself for what he felt would be a long speech. "First thing's first, we need to get a hold of the Relic of Knowledge."

"That's...Spring's, right?" Nora asked. "From what you said back in Lionheart's office, you said Spring applies to Knowledge?"

"Right. Which...kind of sucks right now, because Raven likely has the Spring Maiden in her ranks. It _also_ sucks because of our situation with Leo..."

"It pains me greatly to know that Leonardo has indeed fallen into Salem's clutches," Ozpin noted sadly, "as while he was not one of my closest friends, he _was_ one of my more trusted advisors, enough so to be in my inner circle and learn a great deal of my deepest secrets. I do not know what drove him to betray our cause, but it truly does not bode well for us. Due to this, it is imperative that the secret of my identity remains so, at least for now.

"That being said, we have two objectives ahead of us. The first: to enlist the aid of more Huntsmen."

"But the Mistral Council-"

"Doesn't own every Huntsman in the kingdom," Qrow said, "and I've been here enough times to know where we can find some more, and maybe some additional help while we're at it."

"So long as they are trustworthy," Ozpin commented.

"You can trust 'em to put up a good fight, I'll throw together a list for you later." Leaning back on the chair, Qrow fell backwards as its back leg broke under him. His cup suffered the same fate, shattering on the floor and leaving a large puddle of coffee. "Gods-fuckin'-dammit…."

"After that," Ozpin continued awkwardly, placing down his own cup on the table in front of him, "we can move on to step 2: getting you four into fighting shape. Qrow here told me that he was already planning on training you, but some extra help would not go amiss."

"But we already know how to fight," Ruby argued.

"You," Ozpin started, brandishing the cane they now realized he wielded under Ruby's chin, "can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you are still lacking in hand-to-hand combat. Mr. Arc," now pointing his cane at Jaune, "I'm glad to hear you've improved, but I'm sad to say you've yet to unlock your Semblance."

"Oh, speaking of, you wouldn't _believe _what happened the other day!" Nora interjected, "Qrow here-"

"He used his Semblance on the Nuckelavee we fought and got a blade stuck in its back hoof!" Jaune interrupted her, looking worried all of a sudden. "A-And Nora broke one of its ribs."

Ozpin turned back to Qrow. "You have learned to better direct your Semblance, Qrow? Congratulations are in order."

"I-It was nothing...I was half-unconscious when I did it anyhow."

"The fact that you did so still stands. Even half-consciously, you did it with the intent to protect. _That_, Qrow, is what I have been meaning to bring you to understand: that when you put real intention behind your Semblance, you will more likely achieve your desired result. While it has been excruciatingly more difficult for you due to what we know of the nature of your Semblance, the fact of your accomplishment means that you have passed the first test of improving upon it."

"I...thanks."

"Of course, Qrow. Speaking of, the four of you are due some praise as well. That specific Nuckelavee was notoriously dangerous and old, and your situation did not allow you to flee. While you did, in a way, receive some outside help from Qrow, it is the fact that you four vanquished it that I am so very proud of you. And Ms. Valkyrie, your accomplishment of wounding such a beast in that manner very likely made the difference in that battle. Your families and friends that had passed the day Kuroyuri fell must feel nothing but pride and joy for what you have done for Mistral. If we were not stuck in the situation we are currently in, I would have you awarded a medal."

"I-I…" Nora stuttered, her eyes becoming blinded by tears as she scrunched up her face. Making no effort to stop herself from crying, she stepped forward and tightly hugged Oscar's body to her, thanking him. Before Ozpin could make a motion to hug her back, she quickly moved back to Ren and hugged him as well, this time staying there. Ren looked at the former Headmaster with his own unshed tears and smiled.

Ozpin coughed awkwardly. "Well, yes. I...forgot how hard it was on everyone as a whole. The...point I wished to make is that there are things you still need to learn, and we will teach you with as much time as we have available. And yes I did mean we; while Oscar will be a part of our training sessions, I will also assist Qrow in your training while he both is and is not here."

"Won't doing all that at once be hard?" Ruby asked.

"Most likely, but we have neither the luxuries of ease nor of time at our disposal. I must ask that you four put your all into improving upon yourselves during the time we have...for we may likely have to deal with another disaster in the not-too-distant future.

"For now, though, I expect you all to get some well-deserved rest. We will plan our schedules tomorrow, and after that we will start your training. For now, though, I will hand the reins back to Oscar...it was unfair of me to take control before he had time to properly introduce himself, and I myself need to regain my energy. Doing this...it takes a lot out of me."

With that, the nearly ethereal glow they'd gotten used to seeing around Oscar disappeared, and no trace of Ozpin's confidence remained. His shoulders slacked, and he groaned loudly. The four looked in pity, knowing that someone without proper Huntsman training would likely end up suffering from a proper sparring session...let alone a proper _training_ session.

"So...yeah. That was something," Oscar meekly spoke, "I'm, um, gonna hit the sack. Knowing Ozpin, he'll probably make it hell to spite me. So, um...g'night!" And so, he walked up the stairs and out of sight. As the five heard a door close, Qrow immediately spoke up.

"What the hell was that, Jaune?" Qrow growled, "Nora had the perfect chance to tell Oz about my Second Semblance, why'd you change the subject like that?"

"Look, I knew you wouldn't like what I did, but hear me out," Jaune said, "Right now, there's already too much on our plate to deal with, and adding something as huge as that would just be too much. 'Yeah, Qrow needs to find Huntsmen, and Ozpin needs to train the kids...oh, by the way Ozpin, Qrow has a new Semblance and is defying the laws of Aura as we know it!'"

"That wasn't why you did it, and you know it."

"What, that it was about him forcing the Maiden powers on Pyrrha and sending her to her death? Or that we need to find a relic that _none _of us, not even you, knows anything about without so much as a 'how d'you do'?"

"What's your point, Jaune?"

"...Okay, so maybe I'm a little biased against him right now. I can't deny it, and I won't. But look me in the eye and tell me that he isn't hiding stuff from us — stuff that we need to know! And don't give me 'oh but Jaune, everyone has secrets, and there's loads of things a few-millennia-old ghost has that needs to be kept secret'. Because even before the Fall of Beacon...hell, way before the lot of us were even born, he's been keeping more secrets and _making more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on the planet_."

"So you're telling us that we shouldn't trust him, then?"

"What I'm saying is that we deserve to have some secrets of our own if he's going to hide so many of his from us. Look...I'm not saying I never want him to know, and I know it's yours and Ruby's secret to tell in the end...but this is _way_ bigger than just you, just _us_, and you know it."

"When should we tell him, then?" Ruby asked. She looked a little annoyed at Jaune's opinion as well, but he knew she understood and somewhat agreed with his point of view as well.

"Maybe when everything cools down and we can tell him without being overwhelmed with everything on our plate. But right now, telling him would just slow everything down to a crawl."

Qrow breathed a heavy sigh, more than annoyed at Jaune. "Fine, I'll accept your decision for now. Though the one you should really be asking is Ruby, since she's the one that came up with the chant in the first place."

"I...I agree with Jaune," she answered, "As much as I like Headmaster Ozpin...well, _former _Headmaster Ozpin...Jaune's right that he's kept a lot of secrets. He could've told me about my Silver Eyes way before you did, but he probably told you to keep it from me before you, well, told me. Until I was ready, right?"

"Yep," Qrow answered.

"Okay, so...I realize why he did that, but at the same time I agree with Jaune. That there are a lot more secrets he's keeping from us, from the _world_, because we're 'not ready'. If he's right about the gods supposedly having him take out Salem, why're we near the brink of extinction? I'm not saying I don't trust him, because I do. I trained for most of my life to be accepted in Beacon because I trust him, we _all_ do.

"But another reason I agree with Jaune is 'cause we barely even know anything about this Second Semblance thing. We can't really justify telling someone about something that we can't properly explain, can we? So, uh...yeah, that's my opinion."

"Alright, Rubes...okay, I'll go along with it then." Qrow turned his head and glared at Jaune. "But know that if none of you tell him eventually, then I will. Trust me when I say that his mistakes come with a lot of hardship and experience attached; if you want to keep him out of the loop indefinitely, then you aren't any better than Leo. And I _know_ that none of you are like him."

"We won't," Jaune confirmed, "I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." As he said that, Qrow let out a large yawn. "In the meanwhile, we all have a lot of work ahead of us. You guys should head to bed soon. I'll head up after I make my list for Oz. Oh, and you might want to put the food away before it goes bad." He pointed to the stew still sitting on the stovetop, now most likely cold.

"Oh no," Ruby wailed as she ran into the kitchen, "I didn't finish the stew!"


End file.
